


Safety of the Dark

by snaeken



Series: Safety of the Dark [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-02-13 17:31:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 44,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12988971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snaeken/pseuds/snaeken
Summary: After Garrett cheats on him, Liam not only loses his boyfriend, but one of his best friends. Then he starts talking to Theo, and it's like Liam can't get him out of his head. There's more to Theo than meets the eye, though; he's hiding something, and seems intent on keeping it hidden at all costs. Will Liam be able to trust Theo? And will Theo reveal what he's hiding?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is nowhere near finished, but I thought it was about time I actually posted one of my Thiam works. Although there will be some canon elements, there won't be any supernatural stuff. Let me know what you think of it so far!

Liam’s having a bad day.

For starters, he got a poor mark on his Biology test, even though he actually studied for it. Then his mum texted him to let him know she’s been asked to do another flight, so it’s going to be a few more days before she gets home.

 

The school bell has just rang, signalling the end of the day and the start of the weekend. Liam’s walking down the hallway, trying not to get crushed by the rush of excited students when his phone starts ringing. He digs it out of his pocket and sees ‘Dad’ on the display.

“Hey dad, what’s up?” Liam says as he answers the phone.

“Hi sweetie, it’s Melissa from the hospital.”

“Oh, hi Melissa. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry. Your dad’s been called into an emergency surgery, a pretty nasty car crash victim.”

“Ouch. Do you know how long he’ll be?” Liam feels a clap on his shoulder, and sees Mason has materialised beside him.

“Sorry sweetie, I’m not sure. Your dad’s wondering if you can do him a big favour, though.”

Liam sighs, already knowing where this is going. “Look after Aria?”

“He knows you had plans, but your regular sitter’s busy.” Melissa sounds genuinely sympathetic, and Liam knows that she is; her son Scott isn’t too much older than Liam, so she’ll remember all too well how disappointing it was when they had to cancel plans due to unexpected patients coming in. “Aria’s on a play date at the Parrish’s, could you pick her up later?”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks Melissa.”

“See you soon, sweetie.”

 

“Dude,” Mason sympathises as he wraps an arm around Liam’s shoulders. Liam immediately relaxes into the touch, leaning against Mason.

“I can’t believe I have to miss Sinema,” Liam groans. It’s all ages night every Friday, but even then the doormen are sometimes reluctant to let Liam in because of his height. His growth spurt can’t come soon enough.

“There’s always next time,” Mason says distractedly. Liam follows Mason’s line of sight, and immediately sees why; Corey’s ahead of them, skittering between people in a half-run to get out of the building. Liam doesn’t know what Mason sees in Corey, personally, but who is he to judge.

“You making moves on my boyfriend, Hewitt?” Garrett asks by way of a greeting, leaning in to kiss Liam.

“He’s all yours,” Mason laughs.

Liam kisses Garrett back. “Your hair looks good, by the way. I don’t think I told you earlier.”

He’s started sticking his fringe up in a quiff, instead of just leaving it flat against his forehead.

Garrett smiles, all pearly whites. “It takes me from a solid 9.5 to a perfect 10, right?”

“Yes, totally, your beauty knows no bounds.”

“Asshole.” Garrett lightly punches Liam on the arm.

“By the way, I can’t come to Sinema tonight. I need to look after Aria.”

“Lame. I’m still going, though. I’m not missing Sinema for your sister.” Garrett gets his phone out and promptly starts tapping away on it. Liam shoots him a glare, but he’s too preoccupied to notice.

“You guys wanna come back to mine and play X-Box for a bit?” Liam asks. “I don’t need to pick up Aria until later.”

“Whatever,” Garrett shrugs.

“I dunno man, I should probably get a head start on my homework instead of leaving it all until Sunday night again,” Mason says.

Liam looks at him incredulously. “I can’t believe my best friend is such a nerd.”

“Hey, laugh all you want but don’t come crying to me when you’re worrying over what assignment not to hand in.”

“Oh please,” Liam scoffs, “we both know I’m going to do exactly that, and we both know you’re going to help me anyway.”

“And this is the thanks I get, being verbally abused to my own beautiful face.”

“Seriously though, come back to mine. I’ll order pizza.”

“Hmm, I don’t know…” Mason looks so genuinely conflicted that Liam might think he actually wants to go home and do homework.

Liam decides to play his trump card. “I’ll _pay_  for pizza.” The corner of Mason’s mouth hooks up in a smile. Hook, line and sinker.

“You just know me so well,” Mason sighs, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

 

Garrett and Mason are sitting on the couch, while Liam sits on the floor between Garrett’s legs. Mason lets out a shout of triumph as his team wins, while Liam groans at losing.

Liam tilts his head back to stare up at Garrett, who’s tapping away at his phone. “Hey, you wanna play next or are you just gonna keep staring at your phone?”

“I’ll keep staring, thanks.” Garrett doesn’t even look up from the screen as he says it.

“Whatever,” Liam mutters. “Next round, let’s go.”

 

Liam could actually win this round. He’s leaning forwards, willing his character to win. He sees Mason’s character, is about to take the winning shot-

-then suddenly there’s an arm covering his eyes, pulling him backwards. The unmistakeable sound of Liam’s character being killed resonates from the TV.

“Garrett, you asshole! I was about to win!” He shoves Garrett’s arm away from his face, but instead Garrett leans down to wrap Liam in a bear hug, tickling Liam’s ribs as he does so. “Stop, stop!” Liam laughs, trying to squirm out of his grip. Garrett peppers his face with kisses, then lets him go.

“Hey, Liam,” Garrett says.

“Hmm?”

“You were supposed to pick your sister up 20 minutes ago.”

“Oh fuck.” Liam jumps to his feet and Mason snorts. “Lydia’s going to kill me. She is literally going to end my life. You’ll never see me again.” Liam grabs his keys and runs out the room. “Just let yourselves out,” he calls over his shoulder.

“Good luck,” they both call back.

 

***

 

Liam decides to cut through the skate park. He would normally try to avoid the place altogether, since the people who hang around there are kind of dicks. However, there are big, dirty clouds rolling across the sky, threatening to rain at any moment; and Liam, in his haste, forgot to pick up a jacket. He hops the fence and sure enough, there’s a crowd of people; some are doing tricks on their skateboards and BMX bikes, while others are just sitting around smoking cigarettes.

He nearly reaches the other side without incident when he hears one of them call to him. “Hey, Liam.”

Liam groans. He doesn’t have time for this right now. Theo’s probably only talking to him to annoy Hayden.

The thing is, everything about Theo screams ‘popular’, yet he barely seems to speak to anyone in that crowd. Maybe he’s just not interested in the vapidity of high school’s social hierarchy.

“Liam!” Theo calls again. This is promptly followed by a crash and jeering from the other habitants of the skate park. Liam turns around to the sight of Theo Raeken on his ass, wincing and holding his arm, skateboard slowly rolling away from him and towards Liam. He knows he’s caught at this point, so he picks up the skateboard and walks over to Theo, who’s still sitting on his ass. He’s wearing these skinny jeans that do wonderful things for his legs, even if Liam would never admit that out loud, and a white t-shirt which Liam would happily admit out loud is a stupid idea when he’s likely to get dirt and/or blood on it.

“Thanks,” Theo smiles when Liam offers him a hand up.

“You okay?” Liam asks, motioning to Theo’s arm. There’s blood dripping between Theo’s fingers where he’s holding the injury, and as predicted, a few spots have gotten on his t-shirt. “We need to clean that up.”

Corey and Hayden are sitting nearby, watching the exchange with interest. Corey still manages to look nervous, somehow, and Hayden glares daggers at Liam when they lock eyes. Hayden’s hated Liam for years, ever since he got in a fight with some boy at school and Hayden got in the way, which might have resulted in Liam accidentally breaking her nose. On school picture day. She broke his nose back, but even then she never really forgave Liam.

“Hey Corey, pass me that water bottle,” Liam says. Corey looks like a deer in the headlights, eyes going almost impossibly wide. Liam isn’t sure if he’s done something to upset Corey in the past too, or if the guy’s just generally a bit of a reticent, anxious mess. He makes no move to hand over the bottle, though. Liam rolls his eyes and picks up the bottle himself, unscrewing the cap.

“Liam, wait, that’s not-” Hayden says as Liam starts to pour it onto Theo’s wound. Theo hisses in pain and yanks his arm away. “-water,” Hayden grimaces.

“What the fuck is it?” Liam scowls, upset that he’s hurt Theo instead of helping him when he didn’t even want to be here, anyway.

“Vodka,” Corey states. Then his eyes widen slightly, as if surprised that he actually spoke.

“Huh. Didn’t think you had it in you, Bryant.” Corey must take it as a compliment, because a bashful smile spreads across his face. “Seriously though, are you okay?” Liam asks Theo.

“Yep, never better,” Theo grins, and Liam can’t help but laugh because he’s so clearly lying.

“I don’t have any plasters left, Theo, your clumsy ass used them all,” Hayden says.

“Oh, hold on. I think I’ve got a plaster.” Liam digs around in his pockets and, sure enough, produces a pink plaster from one of his back pockets.

“Pink, huh? So manly,” Hayden laughs.

“You know I have a little sister,” Liam scowls.

“Don’t listen to her, Liam. I think it’s manly as hell.” Theo puts the plaster on his arm and proudly displays it for everyone to see. “Thank you,” he says more quietly, more sincerely.

“No problem. I really need to go, though. I’m meant to be picking Aria up,” Liam gets his phone out to check the time, “…over half an hour ago,” he sighs.

That’s when the sky decides to open, rain soaking everything in a matter of seconds.

“Fuck,” Liam mutters.

Theo jogs over to where Corey and Hayden were sitting -they’re both hurrying to get out of the rain- and picks up a hoodie. “Here, take this,” Theo says, handing the hoodie to Liam.

“You sure?” Liam asks sceptically.

“Positive. It’s a trade, you gave me a plaster, I’m giving you my hoodie, totally a fair deal. You can just give it back to me at school or something,” Theo shrugs.

“Cool, thanks,” Liam tugs the hoodie on. “See you later.”

 

***

 

“I’m so sorry,” Liam says before Lydia has even fully opened her front door. Lydia lets him in and Liam winces when he sees he’s tracking a puddle through her hallway. “I cut through the skate park to try and get here quicker but this idiot hurt himself so I stopped to help and then the rain started and-”

“Liam.”

That’s all she has to say to shut him up. Lydia has this wide eyed, intense stare. It’s as if she’s looking straight into your very soul. It really helped with her job - she was a hotshot lawyer before she had her daughter, Christine. She didn’t have to choose between her child and her career, but she decided to take a career break until Christine starts school. She still works with some private clients to bring in extra money, though.

“And how’s Jordan?”

It’s probably a bit strange that Liam knows most of the adults in Beacon Hills on a first-name basis. But between his dad working at the hospital, and all the events and play dates he attends with Aria, it’s not that much of a stretch.

“Oh, just worrying himself silly over this possible promotion. You know what he’s like.”

Sheriff Stilinski is retiring soon, and pretty much everyone thinks Deputy Parrish is going to get the promotion - except for Deputy Parrish himself, that is.

“The girls are through in the living room. You can stay until the rain stops if you don’t mind watching them.”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Good, good…” Lydia muses. Then she shoots him a positively terrifying grin. “Mommy needs a glass of wine.”

 

“Liam!” the girls squeal as he enters the living room, both running to him for a hug.

“Hi girls,” he smiles, crouching down so that he’s closer to eye level with them. “Are you having fun?”

“Lots of fun!” Aria gushes. “Look, I drew a picture. Come see it,” she tugs on his arm, already running over to the table with all the colouring pens in her excitement. “Look!” she says excitedly once Liam reaches her, thrusting the drawing at him. It’s of their family: Aria with her dark skin and frizzy hair; their dad looking the same –minus the hair-; Liam, looking very pasty in comparison; and their mum, up in the sky in something that almost resembles an aeroplane.

“That’s really great,” Liam says enthusiastically, and Aria beams with joy.

“Look at mine, Liam, look at mine!” Christine hands her picture to him. Likewise, it’s a drawing of her and her family: herself, Lydia, and Deputy Parrish with his badge on his chest.

“That’s really great too. You’re both so talented.”

 

“Right, it looks like the rain’s stopped. Time to go home.” Liam stands up and stretches, relishing the feeling of something popping in his back.

“Thanks again, Lydia,” Liam says as she materialises in the doorway. “What do you say to Mrs Parrish, Aria?”

“Thank you Mrs Parrish.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Lydia smiles, the warm smile reserved only for small children.

“Right, come on, take my hand,” Liam tells Aria as they leave.

Just as they reach the end of the driveway, Liam’s sure he sees Corey going into a house on the other side of the street. He’s surprised, hadn’t realised Corey lives in this part of town. 

 

***

 

“Do you want some lasagne?” Liam asks Aria when they get home, heading straight to the oven to turn it on.

“Yes please,” she replies, making a beeline for the TV in the living room.

Liam rolls his eyes fondly. He can hear the opening sequence for Frozen in his head before Aria’s even got the TV switched on. As expected, that’s what she’s put in the DVD player. Liam goes to join her once he’s put the oven on and set the table.

They both sing along to the songs, Liam leaving Aria in fits of giggles when he sings in a silly voice, or getting cries of, “Noooo! Liam stop!” when he sings purposefully out of tune.

He goes to check the lasagne, deems it ready and plates up portions for Aria and himself. He puts tin foil over what’s left and sticks it back in the oven, ready to be heat up by their dad whenever he gets home from the hospital.

“Come on Aria, dinner’s ready, pause the movie for now.”

 

After they’ve eaten, they put the movie back on. Liam must fall asleep at some point, because the next thing he knows he’s being shaken awake by his dad, who’s got a sleeping Aria in his other arm.

“What time’s it?” Liam asks groggily, rubbing his eyes.

“Just past nine, it’s not too late. You could still go out, if your friends will be there.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m pretty tired, anyway.” For added effect, Liam’s body decides he needs to yawn. This sets his dad off, too.

“Frozen really takes it out of you,” his dad says, motioning to the TV; the opening sequence is playing in a continuous loop.

“Yeah, building all those fuc- ahem, fricking snowmen is pretty tiring.” Even though Aria’s sound asleep, Liam is still conscious to try and not swear around her. She’s like a sponge at her age, and Liam doesn’t want to be the one responsible for her learning any bad words. “How’s the crash victim?”

“She lived. She’s got a long road to recovery ahead of her, and it won’t be easy; but she lived.”

“That’s good. There’s some lasagne in the oven, by the way. It just needs heat up.”

“Thanks, kiddo.” His dad ruffles his hair. Liam squirms a bit, pretends he doesn’t like it, and his dad chuckles because they both know he’s just pretending.

 

Their dad goes upstairs to put Aria to bed. Liam follows him up, cleans his teeth and heads to bed. He sticks his phone on the charger then burrows under the covers, relishing the feeling of the cool bed warming up around him. He checks his phone and sees a few notifications – all of them Snapchats from Mason. He clicks play on the first one.

“Yooo Liam,” Mason shouts into the camera to be heard over the crowd and the loud music. As the fluorescent lights dim and brighten, his face goes from red to green to blue and back again. “Sorry you couldn’t make it, but it’ll be just like you’re here with us.”

The next one starts to play. “Look who I found!” Mason says, shoving the camera into Brett’s face.

“Hey short stack, too bad you couldn’t come tonight. Devenford are gonna kick your ass next time we play together,” he smirks.

The next one is a group of them, Brett and Garrett included, drinking non-alcoholic shots but all pretending they're alcoholic, screwing up their faces and grimacing before bursting into laughter.

In the next one, the music is more muffled, and okay, he’s definitely watching Brett and Mason making out. Then Brett opens his eyes and sees the camera. He pulls away from Mason. “Are you seriously sending this to Liam?” He takes Mason’s phone and stares straight into the camera. “Hope you enjoyed the show, short stack.” He winks, and the video ends.

The final video isn’t from too long ago. It’s Mason again, just himself this time in the club. He seems to be walking around, people passing him as he goes. “Surprisingly, filming us didn’t kill the mood,” he grins. “I’m getting ready to go home. See you later, Li.” Mason does a sweep around the club with his phone. Just before the video ends, Liam thinks he sees Garrett in the background. He watches the final video again, but furrows his eyebrows when he reaches the part he thought he saw Garrett. He can’t be seeing what he thinks he sees. He plays through the video once more, prepared to take a screenshot at the right moment. He captures the moment he wants and opens it in his camera roll, zooming in as far as possible without ruining the quality. There on his screen, he’s seeing Garrett pressing a girl against the wall, hand brushing her cheek and her lips locked in his.

He’s watching his boyfriend cheating on him.

 

Heartbreak swiftly transforms into anger, and Liam can feel himself ready to explode. He sends the screenshot to Garrett, accompanied by, "YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, I TRUSTED YOU. WE'RE DONE."

He blocks Garrett's number, as well as removing him and blocking him on all social media. Liam gets out of bed and goes downstairs into their garage, and starts taking out his frustrations on the punching bag they have set up in there for him. He batters it until he's sweaty and breathless, until his knuckles are cracked and bleeding.


	2. Chapter 2

****Liam feels like shit when he wakes up; his knuckles are sore and there’s a hollow ache in his chest. He grabs his phone and brings up the screenshot again, reopening the wound that hasn’t even had time to start healing. How could Garrett do that to him? Sure, they didn’t always get on, but he didn’t think things were so bad between them that Garrett would even consider something so awful.

He wallows in bed until he gets sick of his own company. He sighs as he gets up and goes through to the bathroom to take his Risperdal. Then he heads downstairs for something to eat.

“Morning, kiddo,” Dr Geyer says when Liam goes into the kitchen. He’s sitting at the breakfast counter, looking at the news on his tablet.

“Hey dad.” He puts some bread in the toaster and sits across from David at the counter.

“What happened?” David frowns when he sees Liam’s hands. “Here, let me see them.”

Liam winces as Dr Geyer checks to make sure he hasn’t broken any knuckles.

“I had an episode last night. Garrett. He, um. He cheated on me.” Saying it out loud hurt even more than Liam expected it would.

“He did what now?” There was murder in David’s eyes. He didn’t often get angry, but Liam was glad he had never been on the receiving end of it.

“Yeah. I broke up with him, just. It’s really shitty.”

Satisfied that Liam’s knuckles are fine, David releases him. Liam gets up and spreads his toast, putting it back in the toaster for a few seconds to let the butter melt more.

"That boy better hope he doesn't need medical attention any time soon."

Despite himself, Liam laughs at the empty threat. David is one hundred per cent professional and would never dream of giving anyone less than the best care he can provide, even if he's not too fond of the patient.

Before Liam can sit back down, David’s pulling him into a hug.

“Sorry, kiddo,” he murmurs.

Liam puts his plate down on the counter, then wraps both arms around his dad. “Thanks,” he sighs.

“I’ll need to head into work soon, will you be fine here? Aria’s taken care of.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I’ll invite Mason over or something.”

“It’s my job to worry, kiddo. Just call me if you need anything, all right? Go through reception if I don’t answer my phone.”

“I will, thanks dad.”

“Any time, kiddo,” David says, ruffling Liam’s hair. This time Liam just lets him do it, enjoying the comfort. He doesn’t bother pretending to pull away.

 

***

 

****To: Mason** **

****Liam:****  hey come over

bring your hw if u want, nerd

 

****To: Liam** **

****Mason:**** Sure, see you soon

 

Mason lets himself in when he arrives - they’ve been friends forever, knocking isn’t required when they go to each others’ houses.

“Liam, I’m here,” Mason calls.

“Living room!”

Mason frowns when he sees Liam sitting on the couch with ice packs on his hands.

“You beat someone up or something?”

“It’s probably easier if I just show you.” Liam pulls up the screenshot on his phone.

“Is that..?” Mason’s expression goes from confused to shocked to angry all within a second. “I’m going to kill him. I’m literally going to kill him,” Mason seethes, starting to pace around the room. “I know how to dissolve a body, I’ve watched Breaking Bad!”

Despite his mood, Liam can’t help but snort.

“Dude, I’m serious! You get the barrel, I’ll get the hydrofluoric acid. Nobody ever has to know.”

 

They watch TV for a bit, and Liam explains to Mason that he accidentally recorded Garrett and the girl, and how it triggered an episode.

“Right, get dressed. We’re going out.” Mason jumps up from the couch, pulling Liam up too.

“What? Where?”

“We’re going to the mall. It’s a proven fact that retail therapy makes everyone feel better.”

Liam goes upstairs and throws some clothes on, grabs his wallet then heads back downstairs.

“Is that new? It looks good on you,” Mason says.

“Huh?”

“The hoodie?”

Liam looks down and realises he’s wearing Theo’s hoodie. It's slightly too big, enough so that it's actually quite comfy.

“Oh, right. It’s not mine. It’s Theo Raeken’s.”

“...Why do you have Theo Raeken’s hoodie?”

“He fell and it rained and…" Liam sighs and shakes his head. "Yesterday was a really fucking weird day, Mase.”

 

***

 

After arriving at the mall, they head to the food court first. Liam finds them a table while Mason goes to buy milkshakes. Liam looks out the window and watches all the people going about their day, and tries to let his mind wander. But every single thought comes back to Garrett, and how betrayed and embarrassed Liam feels because of him.

"..am? Hey, you okay?"

Liam jumps slightly when Mason nudges his arm. "Sorry, just thinking." He must have been more zoned out than he thought.

Mason frowns, but puts the milkshakes on the table and sits down.

"Seriously, we don't have to stay here if you're not up to it."

"Nah, don't worry, I'm fine. Come on, tell me about Sinema."

And then Mason launches into a story about the night's events -even though Liam has seen most of what happened- making animated hand gestures as he talks through it all.

"And dude, you were so right about Brett. Great kisser."

"Told you," Liam says.

Back when he attended Devenford Prep, Liam had a bit of a rivalry with Brett; they were both on the lacrosse team and loved to push each other's buttons. Eventually it resulted in an angry make-out session in the locker room, which led to a few more angry make-out sessions in the locker room. That was as far as things went, but it definitely helped ease the animosity between them.

"D’you think anything might happen with him?" Liam asks.

"With Brett? I mean, I’d definitely make out with him again, he’s __gorgeous__. I think it was just a bit of fun though." Mason shrugs and takes a drink of his milkshake.

“Besides, you’re too busy pining over Corey,” Liam smirks.

Mason nearly chokes and his eyes widen. "Oh! I can’t believe I almost forgot, I’m pretty sure I saw Corey at Sinema."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, but then he just disappeared and I didn't see him for the rest of the night."

"Are you sure it was him? Clubs don't really seem like his type of thing."

Mason 'hmm's, and they both drink more of their milkshakes. A little kid starts crying, and Liam has a brief internal battle between Annoyed Teenager Liam wanting to tell them to shut up, and Caring Big Brother Liam wanting to soothe them. They finish their milkshakes, toss the cups out and go to look around the shops.

 

*** 

 

Liam makes a beeline for the children’s DVD section in the store, Mason following swiftly behind. There’s nothing he really wants for himself at the moment, but he figures it would be nice to find something for Aria. He has an idea of what he’s looking for, but whether or not he or Mason actually finds it is another thing.

“Right, you start at that end and I’ll start at this end,” Liam says. Mason nods, and their quest begins.

They meticulously work their way through all the children’s DVDs, scrutinising the covers and the descriptions. Liam bypasses the ones he knows or that Aria already has, but it’s still a long job. Mason seems unphased, but Liam groans in frustration.

“Where the hell are all the black main characters?” He shoves the current DVD back on the shelf with a little more force than is necessary.

“Welcome to my world,” Mason says.

“There’s so little positive black representation in children’s media. I know dad’s a doctor, but she should be able to watch TV and see people who look like her.”

“Preaching to the choir, dude. Preaching to the choir.”

Then Mason passes The Princess and the Frog to Liam. His face lights up after seeing the cover and he only gets more excited after reading the description.

“It’s perfect, Mase! Let’s see if we can find another one.”

“ _ _Ahem.”__

They turn around, and an annoyed looking woman with a child is glaring at them.

“Sorry, we’ll just be a minute,” Liam says, then starts rifling through the shelves again.

Not even ten seconds later, the woman huffs, tapping her foot impatiently.

“Just a minute,” Liam repeats, trying to keep his tone friendly so as not to upset the little kid.

“Right, come on Mckinlee,” she says to the little kid. Mason laughs but quickly turns it into a cough. “Let’s go find a manager and see if they can do anything about these boys blocking the way.” With that, she storms off.

“Jesus Christ,” Mason laughs.

Despite the threat, they keep looking through the racks for another minute. They don’t see anything else of interest, but Liam’s happy with the one film they did find. Hopefully Aria will like it.

 

***

 

After looking around a few more stores, they go home and Mason spends the rest of the day with Liam. They play some video games, and Mason actually did bring his homework with him and did some of it. After a pointed look from Mason, Liam reluctantly did some of his too.

 

 There are no unexpected emergencies at the hospital for a change, so David gets home at a reasonable time, Aria in tow. After the four of them have dinner, Liam tells Aria he got her a present earlier and gives her The Princess and the Frog.

“She looks like me!” Aria squeals, jumping up and down a few times in excitement. “Can we watch it now? Can we?” she asks David.

“Hmm,” he pretends to deliberate over it for a moment, but gives in pretty quickly.

 

“Liam you need to sing!” Aria complains after one of the songs finishes.

“I don’t know the words yet,” he laughs.

“Then learn them!”

This earns a laugh from Mason and David too. They’re both looking at Aria fondly; fatherly love is radiating out of David, and she’s basically like a little sister to Mason too.

“Okay, bossy boots. But you need to learn them too so we can sing along together. Deal?”

“Deal,” Aria beams, focusing all her attention back on the movie.

 

Once the movie’s finished, Mason goes home and David puts Aria to bed. When he comes back downstairs they make a start on tidying up the kitchen, Liam unloading the dishwasher while David wipes down all the surfaces and generally tidies up. There’s no such thing as a tidy house when there’s a child around, but they still try.

“How’re you doing, kiddo?” David asks.

“I…”

Liam takes a moment to gather his thoughts, busies himself with putting the cutlery away. David doesn’t rush him, let’s him take his time.

“I’m not fine,” he sighs. “I will be, though.”

“You will be,” David reaffirms. “But if you’re not, tell your mom or I and we’ll do what we can to help.”

“I will, thanks dad.”

Liam finishes putting the dishes away, then picks up one of Aria’s toys from the floor and places it on the counter.

“Are you going to tell her when you speak to her tomorrow?”

David isn’t referring to Garrett by name anymore, and Liam’s immensely grateful.

“I’ll wait until she’s back. I don’t want to worry her when she’s not here.”

David nods. “Okay, I won’t mention it then.”

 

Liam heads up to his room and strums away on his guitar for the rest of the night. He only plays a few breakup songs.

 

***

 

Sunday is a quieter affair. David has the day off, so the three of them go out for lunch. When they get home, Aria insists on watching The Princess and the Frog again; she and Liam need to learn the song lyrics, after all.

He video calls his mum at the agreed time, and although he pointedly doesn’t mention Garrett, he’s worried his mum will. Thankfully she doesn’t ask about him. Once they’ve caught up, they say they love each other and Carol says she’ll definitely be home soon this time, and Liam passes her over to David and Aria.

 

That evening, Liam’s sitting at his desk with his head in his hands, surrounded by open textbooks and half-started homework assignments. He gets his phone out and texts Mason.

 

****To: Mason** **

****Liam**** : Mase please help

 

It takes Mason an entire seven minutes to reply, and Liam’s positive that he does it just to make him suffer.

 

****To: Liam** **

****Mason:****  Look who left their homework too late

Again.

I am shocked.

 

****To: Mason** **

****Liam**** : Mason please

I’m literally gonna cry

 

A four minute wait this time. Mason’s definitely enjoying it.

 

****To: Liam** **

****Mason:**** Fine, fine, what’re you stuck with?

 

****To: Mason** **

****Liam**** : Love you Mase <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sincere apologies to any Mckinlees who might be reading this


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Alicia extrasteps. Without you this chapter would still be a half-written mess <3  
> I'm not sure if it's necessary, but warning for the beginnings of a panic attack. Let me know if you think I should add any other warnings.

Liam groans when his alarm goes off on Monday morning, and he blindly feels around for his phone so he can snooze it. Far too soon the alarm’s going off again, and the now-familiar sinking feeling in his stomach returns. There's no way around it, he’s going to see Garrett today. He obviously didn’t feel guilty about what he did; although Liam blocked him on everything, he made no attempt to contact either him or Mason. Clearly they’re both replaceable.

 

**To: Mason**

**Liam:**  I can’t do this

I can’t go to school and see him

 

Mason responds almost immediately.

 

**To: Liam**

**Mason:**  Yes you can

I’ll come and pick you up

You better be ready

 

True to his word, Mason arrives and lets himself in earlier than is entirely necessary. His excuse is that he was expecting to have to drag Liam out of bed by force.

 

On the drive in, the anxiety festers and grows in Liam’s chest the closer they get to the school. Mason keeps shooting him the occasional concerned glance, but keeps his eyes on the road for the most part. Again, far too soon Mason’s pulling in to the parking lot.

“Hey, seriously. If you see him, look away. If you hear him, block him out. If he tries to speak to you, shut him down. And if he pulls  _anything_  at all, just remember the hydrofluoric acid.”

“Yeah,” Liam gulps.

The thing is, high school is a breeding ground for rumours to grow and mutate, to turn into monsters so far removed from the original story that they’re no longer recognisable. Liam himself has only told his dad and Mason, and he trusts Mason not to have told anybody. But what if the girl said something? What if others in Sinema saw them together? What if Garrett himself has been telling people stuff? And if he has, then  _what_  has he been telling them?

 

They get out of Mason’s car, and Liam reluctantly goes to face his fate.

 

***

 

Liam hasn’t seen Garrett; the fact that they share barely any classes is now very much a blessing. Surprisingly enough, nobody’s asked him about it either. Maybe nobody saw anything?

It all goes wrong when he goes for lunch.

Liam meets Mason at their usual table in the cafeteria, breathing a sigh of relief when they’re the only two there. He’s about to dig into his food when he hears a laugh.  _Garrett’s_  laugh. Liam and Mason both whip their heads round and come to a halt at one of the ‘popular’ tables. There he is, looking for all the world like he’s always been part of their group. He has his arm around a girl, and he recognises her now, the girl from Sinema. The lighting and the distance had left her features a bit unclear, but there’s no mistaking her now; it’s Violet.

Garrett leans in to kiss her and Liam witnesses the act in sickening high definition. So that’s it, then. A public display that GarrettAndLiam are now just Garrett and Liam.

Mason looks ready to go over and physically pull them apart. Liam abruptly pushes his chair back from the table and stands up, the people around him grimacing as the chair screeches against the floor.

“He’s such a dick.”

His voice cracks and he scrubs his knuckles against his eyes. He pulls his hood up and storms out of the cafeteria. Mason picks up their food and hurries after him.

Liam goes outside and stomps over to the lacrosse field, glaring at anyone who looks at him. Mason doesn't try and speak to Liam, not wanting to draw any more attention to them, but he's almost having to jog to keep up.

"Liam wait!" Mason hisses when he realises exactly where Liam's going. Sitting together on the bleachers are Theo, Corey and Hayden; she seems to be telling them a story and Corey's handing a sandwich to Theo. "Stop, Corey's there!"

Liam ignores him and instead goes directly over and sits with them.

"We're sitting with you today," Liam says, turning away and scrubbing at his eyes again.

They all seem a bit bewildered by the sudden appearance, but this quickly becomes concern when they realise he's crying.

"Are you okay, Liam?"

Surprisingly, it's Hayden who asks. Unsurprisingly, he ignores her.

"Li, can I tell them?" Mason asks.

He nods, so Mason explains what's been happening with Garrett and Violet.

"Wow, what assholes," Theo says, Corey and Hayden agreeing.

Liam finally turns back around to face them and pulls his hood down. His eyes are a little red but he's not crying anymore. Mason hands him his food and he mumbles a thanks.

They settle into a mildly uncomfortable silence, Mason sneaking glances at Corey and averting his eyes when Corey looks back at him. Corey takes a water bottle out of his bag, taking a drink then returning it. If the way Theo and Hayden both frown is anything to go by, then Liam’s hunch is correct. Nobody says anything about it, though.

Theo clears his throat and nudges Liam’s arm. "So uh, guess you like my hoodie?"

Liam's wearing it again. "Fuck, I was meant to return it, sorry."

It's the first thing Liam's actually said since he joined them. He starts to pull it over his head. His t-shirt rides up with it and Theo glances down.

"Don't worry, just give it back whenever," Theo waves his hand dismissively.

"It's really comfy," Liam blushes as he readjusts.

"Yeah, it is," Theo chuckles. “So the average human has approximately ten thousand taste buds, right?”

“Okay?” Liam blinks, blindsided by the random statement.

“Well do you know how many catfish have?”

“I take it you mean the literal fish rather than internet predators?”

Theo gives a proper laugh, throwing his head back slightly and crinkling his eyes, and Liam can’t help it when his own lips upturn.

“Yeah, I mean the literal fish. So, any idea?” Theo asks, and Liam shakes his head. “One hundred thousand.”

“What, seriously? What do they need so many for?”

“It’s really cool actually, they-”

“Oh great, you’ve set him off. Thanks Liam,” Hayden interrupts, ribbing Theo.

“As I was saying,” Theo gives Hayden a playful shove, “their taste buds aren’t all on their tongues, they’re actually all over their bodies. So it’s pretty dark when they’re digging around in the mud and stuff for prey, right? And their eyesight isn’t awful, but it’s not exactly great either. So with these taste buds all over their bodies, they can use them to like, sense where the prey is, and they have the most taste buds on their whiskers so that once they’re facing in the direction of their prey, they can find it a lot easier. Basically, catfish are giant swimming tongues.”

All of them start laughing at this, even Liam. The way that Theo’s talking so animatedly about it has him hanging on to every word, even though it’s something he normally wouldn’t even give a second thought to. Mason’s just shaking his head in disbelief at what he’s listening to, and Corey and Hayden are giving each other a look which says they’ve definitely heard this story before.

Once they quieten down a bit, Theo continues. “And they vary so much in size, too. Like you’ve got the banjo catfish that’s not even half an inch long, and then there’s the mekong catfish which grows to nearly nine feet long.”

“I know which one I’d prefer,” Mason smirks, sending everyone into fits of laughter. Corey literally snorts, which just makes them all laugh even harder.

The warning bell rings for the end of lunch, quickly sobering the mood within the group. Liam can’t quite believe lunch is already over, it’s gone by so quickly. He hasn’t even thought about Garrett once since Theo started talking.

They start gathering up their stuff to go back inside, and Hayden asks, “Hey Liam, you sit with Garrett in biology, right?”

“Yeah,” Liam grimaces. “Why?”

“I’ll sit with you instead.”

“Seriously?” He looks at her incredulously, not quite able to believe that this girl he’s been enemies with for years is suddenly being nice to him. Still, if something good is able to come from this entire situation then he shouldn’t complain about it. “Thanks,” Liam smiles.

 

The classroom’s still pretty empty when they get there, even Mrs Finch hasn’t arrived yet. Liam and Hayden sit down and a few seconds later Garrett comes in.

“You’re in my seat,” he says, looking at Hayden.

Hayden looks around the room, perplexed. “Did you hear something, Liam?”

“You can call off your guard dog,” Garrett scoffs. Liam pointedly ignores him.

“Seriously, I swear I can hear something? High pitched, whiny?”

“Whatever, bitch…” Garrett mutters.

“Don’t call her that!” Liam snaps.

“I can defend myself, thanks,” Hayden says. Then she blushes slightly, remembering that she and Liam are on the same side now. She turns to Garrett. “Don’t call me that.”

Garrett just scoffs again, then it turns into a staring contest between him and Hayden. The classroom is slowly filling up, and Liam can hear people telling others that he and Garrett have broken up.

“Why did you do it?”

Liam could kick himself. He had planned on following Mason’s advice, doesn’t want to be speaking to Garrett at all right now. Yet he goes and blurts that out, hating how vulnerable his voice sounds.

“Because you’re clearly not that into me. If you were you wouldn’t keep blowing me off all the time. I mean seriously, Liam? Babysitting?” Garrett says it as if it means nothing, as if _they_  meant nothing. He’s making it sound like Liam’s the one at fault and it just riles him up.

“I’ve got a little sister, sometimes I need to look after her. Why the hell is that an issue? Besides, you came over before I picked her up.”

“Yeah, that quality time with Mason was just sooo fun.”

“Mason was your friend too, what the fuck is your problem?”

“He’s there all the time! I was supposed to be dating you, Mason wasn’t part of the deal.”

“He’s my best friend, of course he’s there!” Liam’s shouting now, can feel that all too familiar anger clawing its way to the surface. The other pupils are like vultures, eagerly soaking in every word, not even pretending to be discreet about watching and listening in. Mrs Finch is still nowhere to be seen. Typical of her to be nowhere in sight when something is actually happening.

“And there it is, Liam Dunbar’s famous temper,” Garrett laughs. “Seriously, control yourself. It’s not that hard.”

“Right, I think that’s enough of that,” Theo says, coming into the classroom with Corey in tow. They each take one of Liam’s arms and lead him towards the door. “We’re leaving. And Garrett? Go fuck yourself.”

“I’ll cover for you!” Hayden calls after them.

Liam looks between Corey and Theo, thoroughly bewildered as he allows them to literally drag him away. Their class isn’t even on this side of the building. Still, so much for staying under the radar.

The receptionist catches them trying to sneak out, but instead of sending them back to class she just smiles and lets them go, and if that isn’t weird as hell then Liam doesn’t know what is. Once they’re outside, Theo ushers them both into his truck.

“Dude, where are we going?” Liam asks.

“I figured we could go to the preserve. It’s quiet there, and I’m guessing you don’t really want to be stuck in a classroom with Garrett right now.”

“What, skip class, just like that? Won’t we get in trouble?”

“We’ve got it covered,” Corey shrugs, and Theo glances at him briefly.

“Fine, whatever, but I need to be back in time for lacrosse practice.” Liam knows he’s a bit snappier than usual but he can’t help it, he’s still riled up from the confrontation with Garrett.

“No problem.” Theo puts his truck into gear and drives them out of the school grounds.

 

Liam’s anger ebbs somewhat as they get closer to the preserve. They allow whatever’s on the radio to fill the silence, Liam quietly singing along to the songs he knows, trying to calm himself down. Corey even joins in at one point, and Theo has a smile on his face for the entire song.

 

When they get out of the truck, Corey and Theo start wandering away, apparently aimlessly. Liam follows them, a few steps behind. He bends down to pick up a stick, snapping it in two and flinging the halves as hard as he can in another direction. Theo turns around, giving Liam a look that he can’t quite decipher. Corey pulls the bottle out of his bag and takes a swig of it.

“Want some?” He holds it out to Theo, who shakes his head.

“I need to drive, dude.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Liam?”

“I can’t mix it with my meds. Thanks, though?”

Corey just shrugs and takes another drink, and Theo doesn’t react. He thought he would’ve got the usual uncomfortable looks people give when you say you’re on medication, but nothing. Maybe Hayden had already told them all about it before they were on speaking terms, who knows.

“So penguins, right,” Theo says, and Liam is already concerned about where this is going, remembering the ‘giant swimming tongues’ comment from earlier. “The average penguin dives underwater for around six minutes when they’re hunting for food. But emperor penguins can hold their breath for up to twenty minutes, because who cares about breathing?”

“Not emperor penguins,” Corey sing-songs. He’s picked up a stick and he’s scraping it along the trees as he passes them. Liam can’t tell if the slight swaying is intentional or not.

“And get this; there’s a species of penguin called the macaroni penguin.”

“You’re shitting me,” Liam says.

“I’m not, honestly!” Theo laughs. “It’s because they’ve got yellow crests on their heads.”

“Oh, so like Cody in Surf’s Up.”

“Incorrect!” Theo points a finger near Liam’s face, expression suddenly serious. “He’s a rockhopper penguin; they’re the ones with the eyebrows that don’t quit.”

“I’m checking that.” Liam scowls and pulls out his phone, and Theo starts laughing at him. “Ugh, typical,” Liam mutters, seeing he’s not got any service.

“Guess you’ll just need to take my word for it,” Theo smirks, and Liam can’t help but smile.

“Tell him about the rocks,” Corey says, and Liam startles. He was so caught up that he had honestly forgotten Corey was even there.

“Oh yeah! Penguins eat rocks too, because they’re just that badass.”

“What even… How the hell do you know all this stuff?” Liam asks.

“I um, watch a lot of David Attenborough.”

“Oh, he’s cool. They play his shows at the hospital all the time, they claim his voice calms people down.”

“Yeah, I like them,” Theo says, smile faltering slightly. “So the rocks, they’re not like huge boulders or anything, more like small stones and pebbles. Supposedly it’s to digest their food more easily, but then what happens to the rocks? Something about that’s a bit weird. Another theory is that the stones make them heavier…”

Liam sees something glint on the ground in front of them. It takes him a few steps to work out what it is, but when he does his eyes widen.

“Watch out!” he yells, pulling Theo backwards. He stumbles and falls, puling Theo down on top of him.

“Ouch, what the fuck Liam? Why did you- Oh.” It’s somewhat obscured by leaves but, not even two steps ahead of where they were standing, is a set bear trap. “Holy shit,” Theo breathes, staring wide eyed at the trap and making no effort to get off of Liam.

Corey throws his stick into the trap, all of them grimacing as the metallic teeth snap and grind together, shattering the stick into jagged pieces. Theo starts to shake slightly and Liam tightens his grip.

“Jesus, I nearly walked into that.” Theo turns back to face him and his eyes are still wide and frightened. “Aren’t these things fucking illegal in public places?” He runs a hand through his hair, breathing becoming more rapid and shallow with every word. “It would’ve shattered my ankle, I wouldn’t be able to drive. God, my _mom_ , I don’t-”

“Theo, you need to breathe. Your foot’s fine, you’re fine, everything’s fine. Come on, try and match my breathing.”

Theo’s just staring at the bear trap, like he can’t hear what Liam’s saying. Liam snaps his fingers in front of Theo’s face a few times, and that seems to snap him out of it.

“Hey, breathe like this, in and out.”

After that, Theo’s able to calm himself down fairly quickly and Liam smiles as his breathing returns to normal.

“See? You’re fine,” Liam reassures him. Theo finally gets off of Liam, pulling him into a tight hug and muttering a ‘thank you’ into his shoulder.

“I think we should probably head back,” Theo says as he stands up, offering a hand to Liam.

“Yeah, I need to get back for practice anyway. Are you okay to drive? I’ve technically only got a learner’s permit but I’ll do it if you want.”

“No no, I’m fine, don’t worry.”

They corral Corey into the back of the truck and set off.

***

“Thanks for today,” Liam says as they pull back into the school’s car park.

“I should be thanking you,” Theo smiles, and Corey makes a noise of agreement.

Liam jogs into the school, waving back as he goes.

 

Once he’s changed and out on the field, Coach immediately starts shouting. “Nice of you to join us, Dunbar. Five laps, get to it.” He clenches his jaw; he’s only four minutes late, but disputing it with Finstock just isn’t worth it.

He builds up a bit of a sweat doing his laps, and when he rejoins the team Coach Finstock is putting them all into pairs for practice dodges.

“How about… you two.”

Liam has to physically restrain himself from groaning, because of course Coach would pair him up with Garrett. Liam’s not sure if Coach even realised they were dating in the first place, but he highly doubts that he knows they’ve broken up. Either that, or he does know and he’s got a really messed up sense of humour. Garrett looks less than pleased about it too, so at least that’s something.

Garrett goes first, with Liam playing the role of defenceman. Garrett tries to do a split dodge, but he swaps hands too soon and Liam easily spots it. However, instead of just checking Garrett’s stick, Liam impulsively tackles him and knocks Garrett off his feet. Garrett groans, coughing as he tries to get the air back into his lungs.

Coach Finstock blows his whistle. “Dunbar, what the hell was that?! You’re supposed to break the other teams’ players, not ours!”

“Sorry, Coach!” Liam calls over, sounding to all the world like he actually means it. Then he smirks down at Garrett, who’s still on the ground and glaring up at him. “Looks like I’m still working on my anger issues,” he shrugs. Maybe it’s petty, but he can’t deny that it feels good.


	4. Chapter 4

It becomes a thing, after that; Liam and Mason hanging out with Corey, Hayden and Theo. Liam continues to try and ignore Garrett’s existence, and he tells his mum about what’s happened when she’s back home and settled.

 

Nearly two weeks go by without incident; no bad test scores, no Garrett drama - no general drama, full stop - nothing. Then Theo’s off sick on the Thursday, and Liam texts him to ask if he’s okay. Theo eventually replies that he’s got a bug and adds a frowny face at the end, so Liam wishes him a speedy recovery.

Theo’s back at school on Friday, but he’s quieter than usual and doesn’t look too great. Liam puts it down to him not being fully recovered yet.

They’re out on the bleachers again. Theo’s slowly picking away at a sandwich, but it looks like trying to eat is making him feel worse, if anything.

“Anyone know where Corey and Hayden are?” Mason asks.

“No idea,” Liam says, and Theo shrugs rather than answering verbally.

Liam looks at Theo and frowns slightly. He’s worried; he’s not been friends with Theo for long, but it’s like being ill has made his personality do a complete one-eighty shift. It seems wrong for him to be anything other than chatty and animated.

Liam nudges him and asks quietly, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I still feel a bit sick. I probably should’ve stayed home,” he shrugs. He goes for nonchalant but it looks a bit forced.

That’s when they hear a loud laugh. They all look over to see Corey and Hayden approaching them. She’s wide-eyed, clutching onto Corey’s arm, and he’s laughing and almost stumbling in her hold.

“Is he… drunk?” Mason asks, incredulously.

“My friends!” Corey announces, pulling out of Hayden’s grip and nearly falling on top of Mason. He lets out a squeak as Corey latches onto him, blush rising in his cheeks.

“What the fuck happened?” Theo hisses to Hayden.

“He’s got an English presentation after lunch. He didn’t tell me about it.”

Theo pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes for a second. “He didn’t tell me either, fuck.”

“I dunno why you guys are worried, I can totally do it. I’ll just go in and stand in front of everyone and speak and it’ll be great.”

“Dude, Corey, you can’t go to class like this,” Liam tells him.

“What? I can totally do it! Tell him I can do it, Mason,” Corey pouts.

“Uh.” Hayden, Theo and Liam all glare at him. “I don’t think you should, Corey.” Hayden nods her approval at him.

“Nope, I’m doing it!” Corey stands up and tries to leave, but Theo quickly intercepts him and guides him back down onto the bleachers.

“Jesus,” Theo mutters. Hayden sits on his other side, boxing him in. Mason’s finally recovered from Corey latching onto him, and now he looks concerned like a normal person would have been initially.

“Oh,” Corey says. “Did I tell you guys I had a sex dream about Coach Finstock?”

Liam bursts into laughter and can’t stop. His stomach physically hurts and his laughter seems to set everyone else off too.

“I can never look at you the same way again,” Hayden deadpans, and Liam cracks up even more.

“Theooo, tell your boyfriend to stop laughing at me,” Corey whines, and Liam chokes.

“What? Corey, we’re not- I don’t- _ _”__  Theo splutters, looking to the others for help, but neither Mason nor Hayden seems willing to intervene.

“Why not? You guys are hot together. And your mom would probably like him, even if she-”

Theo slaps a hand over Corey’s mouth, muffling him if not entirely silencing him. Then Theo grimaces. “Stop licking my hand, you’re disgusting.” An edge has crept into Theo’s voice and he’s scowling at Corey. “Come on, I’m taking you home. You can’t go to class like this.” He hauls Corey to his feet, dragging him away by the arm.

“Bye, friends!” Corey calls back to them, waving an arm exaggeratedly until Theo stops him. When they get a bit further away, Corey shouts something else back at them. He and Theo are too far away to make out what he’s saying clearly, but it sounds like, “Mason you’re really cute!” If the blush on Mason’s face is anything to go by, then that’s what he heard too.

 

***

 

Liam groans in frustration and drops his controller when Mason beats him. Again. It’s a bit ridiculous, really; Mason doesn’t even own the game himself, he only plays it when he’s at Liam’s house.

“Wanna go again?” Mason smirks. He’s enjoying winning far too much.

“Nah.” Liam stands up and stretches, then checks his phone for the time. “We should go to Sinema.”

“You sure? Garrett’ll probably be there.”

“Fuck him, I don’t care. I’m not avoiding a place I want to go to just because he might be there.”

Mason nods approvingly, standing up. “Should we invite the others?”

“I mean, Corey’s probably not fit to go anywhere right now, let alone a club,” Liam says, and Mason grimaces. “I’m pretty sure Hayden’s working there tonight, but I’ll text Theo.”

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:** Mase and I are going to Sinema, wanna join??

 

They put their shoes on and Mason goes out to start his car while Liam tells his parents where they’re going. When he reaches the front door his phone pings in his pocket.

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** Can’t tonight

 

Liam frowns and fires off a reply.

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:** Too bad, next time then?

 

By the time they reach Sinema, Theo hasn’t replied.

 

Instead of joining the queue, Mason walks right past all the people waiting to get inside, and then right past the bouncers.

“Dude, where’re you going?” Liam asks.

Mason’s got a triumphant grin on his face. “I texted Hayden before you got in the car. She says she’ll let us in the staff entrance, we can skip the door fees.”

“Oh, nice,” he says fist bumping Mason. They round the corner and between the lack of a working streetlight and the gloom of the side alley, their visibility immediately decreases. Mason stops beside a door that seems to blend into the wall, chapping it twice. A few seconds later the door opens inwards and Hayden’s moving aside to let them in.

“We so owe you,” Mason says.

“I know.” Hayden’s got a glint in her eyes that can only mean trouble.

 

He spots Brett as soon as they get inside. Not that it was very difficult, what with him practically being a head taller than most of the people there. He doesn’t even realise he’s looking for Garrett and Violet until Mason tells him to stop. He mentally shakes himself, he came here to enjoy himself and he can’t do that if he’s thinking about them.

He and Mason dance together for a while. It feels like forever since either of them have danced just for the sake of dancing rather than for flirting. It’s fun, being able to be overly clingy with no expectations that it has to lead to anything more.

Somewhere down the line Liam notices a boy pretty blatantly checking out Mason. Liam points him out and urges Mason to go for it. After all, what kind of best friend would he be if he didn’t fully endorse the dancing with and kissing of cute boys?

 

As he’s jostling through the crowd trying to get to the bar, Liam bumps into Hayden and she loses her grip on the tray of drinks she’s holding. The vials smash on the ground, some of the liquid splashing onto Liam’s jeans and Hayden’s legs.

“Liam, you clumsy fuck!” Hayden yells. “That was two hundred dollars worth of drinks you just made me drop. That’ll have to come out of my paycheck!” She bends down and starts carefully picking up the shattered glass, placing it onto the tray.

“I’m so sorry Hayden, it was an accident.” He also starts picking up some glass but Hayden just glares at him.

“Leave it, I’ll do it myself.”

“I’ll pay you back for it, okay?” Liam starts digging through his pockets to see what money he has on him.

“Don’t bother,” she snaps. “Just… go away, Liam.” As quickly as that, any good will Hayden had built up towards him is shattered like the glass on the ground. It looks like Liam’s back to square one.

 

Liam’s watching one of the many movie projections on the wall. From the looks of things it’s some old horror movie; the main character’s just gone down to the basement -by himself, of course, because when have people in horror movies ever had common sense?- and found another guy sleeping in a coffin.

“You know the movies are just a gimmick, right? Nobody comes here to actually watch them.”

Liam turns around and Brett’s looking down at him, his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. When Liam doesn’t say anything, Brett rolls his eyes. “Come on, short stack, you’re in a nightclub. Kiss some boys, drink some non-alcoholic shots, live a little!”

“What if I don’t want to kiss any of the boys here?”

“Well, that depends. Is there a boy who’s _not here_  that you want to kiss?”

Liam averts his eyes, but not before he catches the smirk on Brett’s face.

“See ya, short stack. Enjoy the movie.” Brett claps him on the shoulder and walks away, rejoining the dancefloor. He slots himself between a guy and girl who are dancing together, neither of them seeming to mind the intrusion. He turns around periodically, giving them equal attention, and Liam would never admit that watching Brett is more interesting than the movie.

 

Liam links back up with Mason and they stay until it’s closing time for the minors. Liam sees Hayden a few more times and tries to give her some money, but she rebukes him every time. He kind of wishes he had just stayed home and played more video games.

 

***

 

Mason stays overnight at Liam’s once they get back from Sinema. After Mason leaves in the morning, Liam goes to Jordan and Lydia’s neighbourhood but he doesn’t go to their house. Instead, he walks up the driveway to a house a few doors down and rings the doorbell before he can back out. He awkwardly fidgets while he waits for someone to answer. There’s a car outside the garage, so he’s assuming someone’s in. Then the door opens and a severe looking woman is there, looking at Liam with what appears to be a sneer.

“Can I help you?” she asks, looking decidedly unimpressed.

He wants to wilt under her gaze, but as much as it pains him he continues to look her in the eyes. “I was wondering if Corey’s home?”

“I’ll check. Who should I say is looking for him?”

“Um, Liam.”

She nods and closes the door in his face. Liam blinks, startled. He almost thinks she isn’t going to come back, until the door opens and Corey’s there, looking as surprised as Liam feels.

“Hi,” Liam says bashfully.

“How do you know where I live?” Corey asks, slightly confused.

“Sorry, this is really weird, isn’t it? I saw you coming in one time when I was leaving Jordan and Lydia’s.”

“Oh, okay. Don’t worry, it’s, um- Do you want to come in?”

“That would be good, yeah. Thanks.”

Corey moves aside to let him in, and Liam takes his shoes off when he sees the shoe rack inside the doorway. As Corey leads him through the house, Liam looks around appraisingly; he knows from Jordan and Lydia’s place that the houses around here are pretty fancy, but Corey doesn’t act like he comes from money so it’s a bit jarring. Still, where Jordan and Lydia’s place is homey, full of Christine’s toys and photographs and memories, this house is cold and impersonal, as if it’s just a showhome and nobody really lives here.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Corey asks, leading him to the kitchen.

“Yeah, sure, just whatever.”

Corey opens the fridge and takes out two cans of juice, hands one to Liam. “Thanks,” he says, then whistles appreciatively when he sees the open door to a den. There’s a huge TV mounted on the wall with an accompanying surround sound system. “That must sound amazing.”

“Yeah, it’s good.” Corey looks embarrassed, for some reason. “Do you wanna watch something?”

“Sure, yeah.”

“Pick whatever you want, I’ll get some snacks.”

He’s trying to decide what to watch, then remembers this thing Mason mentioned the other day about teenage werewolves. He doesn’t think Mason said anything bad about it, but Liam will just blame him if it sucks.

 

They’ve been watching the show in relative silence for about twenty minutes. Liam’s not really been paying full attention to the show, trying to work up the nerve to do what he came here for.

The main character’s just working out he’s acquired special powers when Liam blurts out, “So I know this is a really shitty thing to do in your own house, but can I ask you something?”

Corey’s trademark nervous look appears, and he’s silent for a moment before he says, “Um, okay.”

“We haven’t really been friends for long, but I noticed you’ve been drinking and I’m kind of worried about you. I mean, yesterday? Getting drunk at school? That’s not okay, dude.”

“I know,” Corey says with his eyes closed, his voice small.

“So like, do you want to talk about it?”

“I…” Corey licks his lips, eyeing the door as if he might bolt for it, and Liam knows that if this goes badly he could definitely cause a rift in their new friend group. “Yeah, that would be good.”

Liam breathes a sigh of relief. “If you’re comfortable enough, would you mind telling me why?”

“I just feel..” Corey takes a minute to think, tries to pick his words carefully. “Like my chest is always too tight? Like when you feel like something bad is going to happen? Sometimes it’s bearable, but other times it’s just this feeling of impending doom and even though I know everything’s fine, I can’t stop feeling it. It’s always there and I… if I have a drink, then it goes away a bit.”

“And what happened yesterday?” Liam prompts.

“I don’t really like crowds or busy places. Or being the centre of attention, I guess. It doesn’t happen all the time, but the thought of the entire class looking at me… I couldn’t do it.”

“I mean, I’m no expert or anything but that sounds kind of like anxiety. Have you spoken to anyone about it? Your parents, doctor, guidance counsellor?”

Corey shakes his head. “I don’t know if I could. I’m kind of internally freaking out right now that I’m even speaking to you about it,” he laughs nervously.

“I’ve got a diagnosed mental illness,” Liam says, and that catches Corey’s attention. “It’s called IED - Intermittent Explosive Disorder. I take medication for it, and that mostly keeps it in check. But before I got diagnosed, I was a mess. I kept blowing up over the slightest little things, and it didn’t matter that I was completely overreacting; when it was happening, I felt like what I was doing was normal, justified. It was only afterwards that I saw what I had done, and the guilt would set in. I would apologise and my parents knew I meant it, but I couldn’t stop myself losing control.

“Then I had a really bad episode at school. It was so bad that they expelled me.”

“Fuck,” Corey’s eyes widen.

“Yeah, that’s when my parents finally said enough was enough and took me to get tested. Now I’m not saying that medication is for everyone, but it really helps me personally. Just even having a name to put against what you’re feeling is really validating.”

Corey nods, processing what Liam’s just told him. Liam turns his attention back to the TV so as not to make Corey feel pressured. The volume’s low and he has no idea what’s happening anymore, but he watches it anyway.

“Thank you,” Corey says a few minutes later.” For telling me, I mean. About your IED. I um.. I think seeing a doctor would be good. My parents, though…”

“Oh shit, yeah. You can make an appointment yourself, but you would need parental consent for a prescription because you’re under eighteen. Fuck, I’m sor-”

“I’m eighteen already.”

“You are?”

“Yeah, I had to repeat a year when I was younger.” Corey lifts his shirt, revealing a long, white scar across his stomach. “I was pretty sick, needed a liver transplant.”

“Shit, dude,” Liam mutters. “Wait, hold on. You’ve had a liver transplant, but you’re using alcohol as a coping mechanism?”

A blush spreads up Corey’s cheeks. “I never said I make good life choices.”

 

“So, I know I’ve overstepped pretty much every boundary there is. But if you decide to make an appointment to see a doctor and don’t want to go alone, then I could go with you?”

“That would be.. wow, Liam. Thank you, really.”

“It’s nothing. I know how scary it is, telling a stranger what’s wrong with you. You shouldn’t go through it alone if you don’t have to, y’know?”

Corey hums his agreement and turns his attention back to the TV, a small smile on his lips.

“Do you have any idea what’s happening in this?” Corey asks shortly afterwards.

“Nope, not a clue.”

“Well then.” Corey leans forward, almost standing up but not quite. He He goes over and closes the door, then sits back down again right next to Liam, putting a hand on his thigh.

“What are you-” Liam leans back slightly, his voice is strangled. He knows where this is going, just like he knows he should move away.

“I’m not good at many things,” Corey admits as he leans in close enough for Liam to feel his breath against his neck, “but I’m good at this. Let me thank you.”

Corey’s hand sneaks higher up his thigh and he shouldn’t even be _considering_  this, not when his best friend has a crush on him, but he’s not moving and he hasn’t said no. Garrett is still a lead weight in his stomach, dragging him down and trying to sink him when he forgets to fight against it, but he’s getting a thrill from this, from knowing someone else wants to do this with him, because more than anything right now he just wants to feel _wanted_ , and-

“Yeah,” Liam breathes, growing hard from the anticipation. Corey smirks as he leans down and unzips Liam’s jeans, his fingers leaving goosebumps where they come into contact with his skin. Liam’s almost rigid on the couch, but any reservations he had disappear the second Corey takes him into his mouth…

 

“Thanks for, uh. For that,” Liam says dumbly as Corey puts the used tissues in the bin.

“No problem.”

Liam’s gaze is fixed firmly on the TV, and surprisingly enough he still has no idea what’s happening. Apparently they’re onto the second episode now. Corey sits back down, leaving some space between them this time.

“Listen,” Liam sighs, “this needs to stay between us, okay?” It was good while it was happening, exactly what he needed. The guilt’s setting in now though. He shouldn’t have done it.

“Sure,” Corey says nonchalantly, and when Liam looks at him he genuinely seems fine about it. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. How about we actually watch this show?”

“Sounds good,” Liam nods.

They restart the show from the first episode, and after it’s finished they watch the next one. It turns out it’s actually quite good. Before he leaves he gathers up all the empty snack wrappers and puts them in the bin. It’s entirely coincidental that he obscures the tissues from sight.

 

As he walks back home, the lead weight reappears in Liam’s chest. It’s not just Garrett this time, though; it’s Mason too, and Liam’s knowledge of how badly finding out what happened this afternoon would hurt him.


	5. Chapter 5

Monday isn’t a full-on bad day for Liam, mentally, but he still doesn’t feel quite right even after his Risperdal’s had time to kick in. 

People clicking pens, whispering in class when he’s trying to focus, it’s all getting to him more than usual. He’s too irritable to pay full attention and when he’s asked to answer a question, he has to pass without even attempting it. When he hears someone laugh under their breath, he has to dig his nails into the palms of his hands to stop from snapping at them.

 

It’s a relief when lunch finally comes around, even though Mason's doing some extra credit stuff for Chemistry so he won't be there. The classrooms were becoming claustrophobic and it’s good to be able to move freely, rather than being stuck at a desk. He had actually been planning to just find somewhere quiet to go alone at lunch, wanting to try and calm himself down before his afternoon classes. However, once he picks up some food he goes to the bleachers on autopilot. It was maybe a bad choice, though; he seems to have walked into an argument.

 

“Speak of the devil,” Hayden rolls her eyes as Liam sits down. Corey moves over to sit next to him and gives him a sympathetic smile.

“Would you just quit it already?” Theo glares at Hayden and she glares right back at him. “He literally apologised and offered to pay you back, I don’t see what the issue is,” Theo says.

“ _He_  is the issue! Stop letting your stupid crush get in the way of our friendship, Theo. You only spoke to him in the first place because you knew I don’t get on with him.”

“That’s not fair, Hayden,” he growls lowly.

Liam looks at Theo, at the boy who accepted him as a friend and helped him when he was hurting the most. Right at the beginning it had been a hunch he had, but it feels like a betrayal to actually hear the words out loud and know that he was correct. His face must be doing something awful because Theo looks like he’s just been punched.

“Liam…”

Liam picks up his bag and flings it over his shoulder. “I can’t be here right now,” he says through gritted teeth. He hears Theo scrambling down the bleachers to follow him and that’s the final straw; the fuse inside Liam has been smouldering all day, but now it’s finally lit. It’s rapidly burning away to nothing and Liam wants to shout, to sting, to  _hurt _.__

He whirls around and jabs a finger in Theo’s face, causing him to recoil. “ _Don’t. You. Dare._ ”

It’s like all the noise of school life has disappeared; no other students chatting to each other, no vehicles in the distance, even the birds have stopped their chirping. The only sound is Liam’s heavy breathing, each breath getting shakier and shakier as his tenuous control burns away. Hayden and Corey are gaping at him from the bleachers, but neither of them matter because Theo’s still standing in front of him looking like he might cry and all Liam can think is  _good _.__  He deserves to hurt, to feel the way Liam feels.

He storms off back in the direction of the school. Theo doesn’t follow him.

 

He goes to the library and finds an empty table, plugs his earphones into his phone and puts on his ambient noise playlist. He spreads his stuff out as much as possible, giving off a very clear ‘ _Do Not Disturb _’__  vibe and opens his biology homework. 

 

He gets through a few questions before his phone pings with a text message, momentarily cutting off his music. A flame coils in his stomach, sharp and hot, and he has to breathe deeply through his nose for a few moments to try and quell it.

 

**To: Liam**

**Corey:**  They’re still fighting, can I join you?

 

The anger inside him wants to tell Corey to fuck off and leave him alone, or to ignore his message completely. However, the rational part of his brain is shouting to be heard too. It takes him a minute, but he lets the rational side win.

 

**To: Corey**

**Liam:**  I’m in the library

 

It doesn’t take long for Corey to show up, sitting in the seat across from Liam.

Liam takes out an earphone. “I’m not very good company right now.” He waits for Corey to nod before putting his earphone in again and going back to his biology questions. 

 

*** 

 

Lacrosse practice after school is exactly what Liam needs to reign in his IED. They’ve got a game against Beacon Heights on Wednesday so Coach is pushing them hard. When he announces -entirely too cheerfully- that they’re going to be doing suicide runs, some people groan. It doesn’t bother Liam, though; the single-mindedness of the task helps to ground him. Even though he’s uncomfortably sweaty by the time they’re done, he can confidently say he’s feeling like himself again.

 

It’s only after he’s showered and walked home that he allows himself to dwell on his outburst earlier. He didn’t get physical, but he was close. God, he was close. Theo’s probably terrified of him now, or thinks he’s a freak, and whatever Hayden’s been telling him definitely won’t help. It doesn’t exactly feel great, knowing why Theo first spoke to him, but they became friends and that’s what matters to Liam. The thing is, he doesn’t generally care about who likes him or not. He’d rather have a few close friends than a lot of casual ones. But the thought of Theo not wanting to be his friend after today leaves his stomach twisting uncomfortably.

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:**  I’m sorry about earlier

Are we okay?

 

It takes a little while for Theo’s reply to come through, but Liam’s stomach unknots itself when he reads it.

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:**  We’re good, I’m sorry too

Sit with us at lunch tomorrow?

 

He sends an affirmative, then goes downstairs to watch The Princess and the Frog with Aria. Again. He almost wishes they could go back to Frozen to watch something different for a change. Almost. The sheer joy that Aria gets from watching it makes it worth it, even if the songs are always stuck in an incessant loop in his head. Still, he’s got most of the lyrics down now and Aria’s not far behind him, only fumbling the words or going blank every now and again. Little kids really don’t get enough credit for how smart they are.

 

After Aria’s put to bed and Liam’s finished his homework, It’s still early enough that he can strum away on his guitar for a little while. However, he cuts off mid-song as he suddenly remembers what else Hayden said earlier.

_Stupid crush._

Maybe she was just being malicious in the heat of the moment. But maybe there was some truth in it, if Theo’s reaction was anything to go by. He puts his guitar down, then flops back on his bed and groans. Theo’s cute, and he’s kind, and he owns comfy hoodies, and he knows ridiculous animal facts. He’s also the last thing Liam needs right now.

__

_Stupid crush._

 

*** 

 

Mason’s being weird while they wait for their History class to start the next day. He’s being broody, and Mason doesn’t brood. Liam says as much and Mason sighs.

“Okay, just… let me explain before you get mad, okay?”

Liam frowns, but nods.

“I want to talk to Garrett.”

“Okay.” Liam hadn’t expected it, but realises he probably should have.

Mason furrows his brows. “Okay?”

“Yeah, it’s not like I can stop you.”

Mason gains some confidence from Liam’s non-reaction and continues. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be friends with him again. But I mean, we  _were_  friends, right? He and I were friends.” Mason’s looking at Liam for affirmation, so he nods. “I just need to understand what happened. Closure, or something.”

Their teacher comes in at that point so they have to stop talking. Liam squeezes Mason’s shoulder and Mason smiles back at him, relieved.

 

***

 

At lunch Hayden’s glaring at him again before he’s even sat down, and Liam’s just over it.

“Okay, last chance, Hayden. If you say no this time then I’m not offering again. Do you want me to pay you back for the drinks?”

She looks at him for a few seconds before saying, “Fine.” Then quietly, as an afterthought, “Sorry for yesterday.”

“Thanks.” He doesn’t say it’s okay, because he’s not quite sure yet whether it is or not. He opens his wallet and pulls out a twenty. “That’s all I’ve got on me right now, but I’ll get you the rest.”

Again quietly, but not reluctantly, “Thank you.”

He looks to Theo before he sits down, hoping that their text apologies are going to translate into the real world. He’s relieved when Theo smiles at him, genuine and without a trace of discomfort. He sits down and they bump shoulders. Corey’s looking at him so Liam mouths, ‘ _You okay? _’__  

Corey nods, then asks out loud, “Where’s Mason? I thought he was only doing Chemistry stuff yesterday.”

“He’s gone to talk to Garrett.” Saying his name out loud burns a little less than it used to. It still burns, though. “He wants some closure, basically, because he was Mase’s friend too.”

He nods in understanding, then opens up his bag to get out some food, handing a sandwich to Theo again. They eat quietly; it looks like none of them want to risk breaking the tentative peace they’ve come to by talking.

 

Mason’s coming over to them and Liam can see his scowl, even from that distance. It only gets more pronounced the closer he gets to them.

“So Garrett’s a dick,” Mason states, matter of fact as he sits down.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Liam snorts. 

“No, but like... when we were friends, he was a nice dick? Now he’s just a dick dick.”

Liam nods in understanding. He really doesn’t want to know, but he has to ask anyway. “What did he say?”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s not important.”

Liam’s about to prod him for more information; it’s not like Mason to keep stuff from him. Maybe it’s just because they’re around the others? Before he gets the chance though, Corey sidles over next to Mason.

“Look at this,” he says, holding his phone between them so they can both see the screen. A few seconds later Mason chuckles slightly, as if he doesn’t actually want to but can’t help it. Corey lifts his gaze from his phone, watching Mason’s reaction instead. Then Mason laughs properly and Corey’s face lights up.

“What’re you watching?” Theo asks, causing Corey to jump slightly.

“The cats scared of cucumbers,” he replies. Theo laughs and scoots over, hovering behind them. Corey frowns slightly as he makes enough space for Theo to see. Hayden huddles in too, so Liam joins them. As cat after cat jumps when it sees the cucumber, he has to admit it’s pretty funny.

“Why?” Mason asks when the video finishes, unable to express himself any more eloquently. Still, it’s enough for Corey to answer.

“Some people think it’s because the cats are surprised by them. See how most of them were eating? They weren’t paying attention, then when they turn around and see something that wasn’t there before, it spooks them.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“Yeah, so it’d probably work with anything. It’s just that for some reason, a bunch of people decided to use cucumbers.” Corey scrolls through the related videos, giggling when he sees one of them and selects it. “This one’s good.”

Mason’s looking at Corey in a way Liam can only describe as fondly, anything negative he was feeling because of Garrett firmly gone. He’s totally going to make fun of Mason for it later.

This video’s even funnier, a cats with brain freeze compilation. They all burst into hysterics when one particular cat throws its head back and makes a weird gargling sound.

 

Someone’s phone starts ringing. Theo shoots up -it’s his phone- and walks out of earshot before answering it. Corey pauses the video, he and Hayden falling eerily silent as they watch Theo. It’s not long before he’s hanging up and coming back over.

“I need to go, see you later,” is all he says before he grabs his bag and disappears.

Liam glances between Theo’s retreating figure, and Hayden and Corey, who are looking at each other concernedly.

“What was that about?” Liam asks.

“Nothing, it’s probably fine,” Hayden says. She sounds like she’s trying to convince herself, more than anything. They finish watching the cat video but the mood has soured. None of them laugh at the rest of it.

 

***

 

Liam’s getting ready for bed, just about to take his medication when his phone buzzes. He puts down the bottle and frowns when he reads the text.

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** Liam?

Are you there?

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:** Yeah

You okay?

 

Theo’s typing for a long time, stopping and starting again and again. Liam’s expecting a thousand word essay or something close to it. He’s more concerned with what he actually receives, though.

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** Can I call you?

 

Liam replies with a ‘sure’ and just a few seconds later his phone starts ringing.

“Hey, Theo? Are you okay?”

“I just, um,” his voice wavers and  _shit_ , Liam thinks he sounds like he’s going to cry. “I need to get out of the house. Can I see you? If you’re not busy. Oh fuck, is that really the time? Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have called, I-”

“Theo, it’s fine,” Liam reassures him. “Do you want me to come round?”

“No,” Theo says strangely fast. “I can pick you up.”

“Okay, I’ll text you my address. See you soon.”

Liam paces around his room, obsessively looking out the window for any signs of Theo’s truck. Finally Theo appears, and Liam sneaks down the stairs and to the front door.

“Liam?”  _Fuck._  He turns around to see his dad sitting at the kitchen counter. “Going somewhere?” he asks, eyebrows raised.

“Sorry dad, I know it’s late. But Theo called and he sounded upset. He’s outside right now, I could see if he wants to come inside instead? If that’s okay?” Liam squirms.

His dad’s face softens. “No, it’s fine, go ahead. Just don’t be too late, I don’t want you being tired for the game tomorrow.”

Liam breathes a sigh of relief. “I won’t be, thanks dad.”

 

“Hey, you okay?” Liam asks when he gets in the truck, sliding onto the passenger seat.

“Yeah, I’m good.” The last time Theo said that, at the skatepark, it was funny. Now though, when Liam takes in Theo’s red rimmed eyes, it does something unpleasant to his chest. “Where should we go? You can choose.”

Liam thinks for a moment. “We could go to the bleachers? It’s different at night. Quiet.”

“Sure.” Theo relaxes slightly, as if unburdened by Liam choosing a destination for them. Theo flicks the radio on and turns up the volume, and Liam takes that as a sign not to ask too many questions. As they drive along, Liam keeps sneaking concerned glances at Theo, but he’s resolutely keeping all of his attention focused on the road.

 

It’s late enough when they arrive that the floodlights are off. The distant street lights and the moonlight illuminate the field just enough for them to see. They get out of the truck and Liam takes the lead, heading for the centre of the field. He lays down on his back and Theo follows suit.

They lay there in silence for a minute, just watching the stars, until Liam turns to Theo and asks, “What can I do to help?”

Theo keeps avoiding eye contact, gaze fixed on the sky. After a moment he asks, “Just… please don’t ask what’s wrong. I really don’t want to talk about it.”

He wants to say no, to make Theo tell him who or what’s upset him so he can try to fix it. He’s sure it’s something to do with the weird phone call earlier. He doesn’t voice this though, as he agrees to Theo’s request.

“Do you wanna hear about how I got expelled from Devenford Prep?”

“You  _what?_ ” Theo asks, turning to face Liam now.

“Yeah, haha, funny story. So I have Intermittent Explosive Disorder; IED for short. Hayden’s probably told you about it.” He doesn’t say it accusingly, but Theo looks guilty anyway.

“Don’t worry, it’s not a secret or anything, loads of people know about it. Put really simply, it’s anger issues on crack. I’m on medication for it and that helps, but before I was diagnosed I got into trouble all the time. It barely took anything to bring on an episode, and it’s basically a completely over the top reaction to something pretty trivial. It doesn’t feel like an overreaction when it’s happening, but I always feel guilty afterwards.”

“Thanks for telling me about it,” Theo says, still looking at him.

“No problem. I’m not ashamed of it anymore, I know it’s a medical condition and I’m not just super fucked up or whatever.”

Theo’s got a look on his face that Liam’s seen oh so many times; the look of someone who wants to ask a question, but can’t decide if it’s offensive or not.

“So uh, yesterday..?”

“Yeah, that was the start of an episode.”

“Sorry for causing it,” he whispers remorsefully, and Liam waves a hand dismissively. “So how did you get expelled?”

“Oh, right. So I was on the lacrosse team at Devenford too, and one day Coach benched me for using,” Liam makes air quotes with his hands, “’ _excessive force_ ’ on another player. I flipped; smashed up his car with a crowbar, spray painted it, the lot.”

“Jesus,” Theo mutters.

“Yeah, I know. So I felt completely awful about it afterwards, but by then it was too late, the damage was done. My parents took me to see a doctor after that and I got diagnosed. So, it wasn’t all bad. I mean, it could’ve been  _way_  fucking better, but it wasn’t all bad.”

“And the medication helps?”

“Yeah, it does. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna Hulk out on you or anything,” Liam laughs. Theo laughs too, even smiles. Then Liam feels Theo’s hand brush against his. Theo slowly starts to twine their fingers together and Liam’s chest flutters at the contact, but he lets Theo continue.

“Is this okay?” Theo asks nervously.

“Yeah, it’s cool.” Liam squeezes his hand reassuringly and Theo squeezes back. He smiles and Liam’s relieved to see he doesn’t look as upset as he did earlier.

“I haven’t hit anyone since Hayden and I want to keep it that way. She’s still kind of funny around me, not that I can really blame her. Some other people don’t know how to treat me either, when they find out; it’s like once they know about it, I’m some scary, unknowable being.”

“Well that’s ridiculous and they’re ridiculous.” There’s fire in Theo’s voice, loud and bright compared to the relatively quiet surroundings. “I’ve never understood people like that. Why should they treat you any differently if you’ve got a mental illness than if you had a physical illness?”

“Exactly. Like people say it’s ‘trendy’ to have depression or anxiety, whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean. But you can guarantee it’s neurotypical people saying it, because I promise you that nobody who’s mentally ill would actually  _choose_  to be mentally ill.”

“Neurotypical?” Theo asks.

“People who are mentally healthy, basically. And neurodivergent means people who aren’t. I’m kind of ranting though, sorry. Do you want me to stop?”

Theo shakes his head. “Keep going, it’s fine.”

“Okay, so obviously symptoms vary for each individual. But we still _have_  symptoms, and they affect us in different ways, and we have to try and function like ‘normal people’ while battling these symptoms at the same time. Then if or when people find out about your illness, you always risk being treated differently because of it.

“And that’s just for the people with the ‘trendy’ illnesses. There’s worse stigma for people with ‘scary’ illnesses like what I’ve got. Or schizophrenia, for example; that’s the big one. We’re regularly used as the bad guys in stuff like horror movies and murder mystery shows, or just as some plot twist instead of creating any kind of meaningful dialogue.

“The media are awful, too. If a crime’s committed and the perpetrator is a white dude, they won’t blame it on race or religion or terrorism. They’ll always find a way to blame it on mental illness, instead of just saying ‘hey, this right here is a shitty person who did an awful thing’. It really pisses me off.”

Then Liam exhales dramatically. “Whew, rant over. So, have I scared you off yet?” He asks the question casually, rubbing a thumb over the back of Theo’s hand. It can only be a second, maybe two, before Theo answers, but Liam feels every painstaking moment of them.

“Nope,” he says, popping the p. Liam’s face feels hot and he’s pretty sure he’s blushing. He’s glad it’s -hopefully- too dark for Theo to see.

 

They lay back again, faces turned up to the sky as they silently watch the stars.

“Do you know any constellations?” Theo asks. Liam mimics Theo’s _nope_  and he chuckles. “Me neither.”

It’s not overly cold despite the time of night, but the windchill causes them both to shiver. Theo stands up, pulling Liam to his feet too. They hold hands all the way back to the truck, forced to let go when they have to get in.

“Thank you for this,” Theo says quietly enough that Liam has to fight to hear it over him blasting the heat and rubbing his hands together.

“Any time. Call me, and if I can be there then I will. I mean it.”

Not long after they start driving, Theo drops one of his hands from the wheel and rests it on his leg. Liam deliberates for a moment, then reaches over and takes hold of it. Theo smiles at him, all teeth and crinkly eyes, then turns his attention back to the road, neither of them letting go again until they reach Liam’s house.


	6. Chapter 6

Sleep doesn’t come easily that night, there’s too much on his mind. He stares at the ceiling for a long time, thinking over the events of the past few days again and again. Particularly how nicely Theo’s hand fits in his.

 

**To: Mason**

**Liam:** Mase

Mason

Code Red

I repeat Code Red

 

**To: Liam**

**Mason:** Well no shit

You only just realised you like him?

 

**To: Mason**

**Liam:**  You’re being very unsupportive

Remind me why you’re my best friend

 

**To: Liam**

**Mason:** Dude it’s 3 in the morning

Go the fuck to sleep

We can talk about your crush on Theo tomorrow

 

**To: Mason**

**Liam:**  Will we be talking about why you haven’t asked out Corey yet too? ;)

 

**To: Liam**

**Mason:**  ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz

 

**To: Mason**

**Liam:**  Rude

You’re not actually asleep

 

**To: Liam**

**Mason:**  I am trYING TO BE

 

**To: Mason**

**Liam:** Masonnnnnn

: (((

 

**To: Liam**

**Mason:**  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udj-o2m39NA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udj-o2m39NA) 

 

**To: Mason**

**Liam:** Well then.

Good night

 

***

 

A car honks its horn outside and Liam checks the time on his phone; Mason’s turned up ten minutes earlier than he usually does, probably as payback for texting him during the night. He rushes to get his shoes on, grabs his bag and heads out the door.

“You look awful,” is the first thing Mason says to him.

“Well good morning to you, too. You’re early today,” Liam notes once he’s got his seatbelt on.

“Oh, I am? I hadn’t noticed,” Mason says innocently.

“Alright, alright, sorry for keeping you up.”

“It was a Code Red, so I _guess_  I can forgive you. What’s the deal, anyway?”

Liam leans back properly against the headrest and closes his eyes. “We hung out for a while last night. I can’t say where we were, because of reasons. Or why we were there, also because of reasons. And don’t give me that look, I’d tell you if I could.”

“Your eyes are closed!” Mason interjects.

“Yet I’ve got a perfectly clear picture of your intrigued-but-pissed-off face in my head. Anyway, we talked for a while and just… I like him.”

“And what _else_  did you get up to?”

“Nothing!” Liam laughs, opening his eyes as they come to a stop at a red light. “I mean, we held hands. But that’s as far as it went.”

“Who initiated it?”

“Theo did.”

“Oooh, nice. So is it too early for the ‘hurt my best friend and you’re dead’ speech?”

“I don’t know,” Liam sighs as Mason gets ready to start moving again. The light hasn’t even fully changed yet, but the car behind them honks their horn. Liam flips them off between his seat and Mason’s seat, hoping that they see.

“I like him, but Garrett… I don’t want to get hurt again.”

It’s the kind of painful honesty that he’s only comfortable admitting to his best friend. Mason’s face is carefully neutral; Liam’s not sure if he’s hiding anger or hurt. Either way, he knows it’s because he mentioned Garrett.

Liam runs a hand through his hair. “Besides, isn’t it a bit soon?”

“It wasn’t too soon when Garrett got with Violet,” Mason replies curtly. Mason takes his eyes off the road for a second to look at Liam, shock mirrored on both their faces. “That sounded _way_  less shitty in my head. Jesus, Liam, I’m sorry.”

After baring his soul like that, albeit briefly, it feels like being punched in the throat. He wants to speak but he can’t make anything come out. It’s not like he can even go anywhere for some breathing space; they’re in a moving vehicle. The only place he can go is into himself, so he closes his eyes again for the rest of the journey, only opening them once they come to a stop.

“Liam?” Mason asks tentatively.

Liam tries his voice again and finds that it works. “It’s okay.”

Mason doesn’t look convinced, but he nods anyway.

“So, how about Corey?” he asks; they’ve arrived early, they don’t need to go inside yet.

Mason groans dramatically. “I want to ask him out but I don’t want him to say no.”

“He’s not going to say no,” Liam says confidently.

“You don’t know that!” Mason whines. “Can’t I just keep subtly implying that I like him and hope he catches on?”

“Dude, I think Corey’s the kind of guy who’d need it spelled out explicitly to him.”

“I hate it when you’re right.”

The first bell goes and they both groan; another fun-filled day of education beckons them.

 

***

 

Liam opens his locker during morning break and starts swapping his textbooks. He sees a familiar flash of blond hair out of the corner of his eye, and he wonders if he’ll ever stop being able to pick out Garrett in a crowd, even involuntarily.

Although the hallways are kind of packed, Garrett himself seems to be alone. Violet’s not with him and neither are his newfound friends. If they’re friends at all, actually. Do popular people actually like each other? Or have anything in common other than the desire to remain popular? Liam’s not sure.

“Garrett!” Liam calls, prickling when he sees Garrett roll his eyes in a gesture that he knows he was meant to see. A few of the nearby students slow down, obviously hoping for a domestic to occur.

“What is it, Dunbar? Places to go, people to see, and all that.”

The demotion from Liam to Dunbar stings, even though that was clearly the intent. He’s just annoyed that he’s still letting Garrett get to him.

“What did you say to Mason?”

Garrett smiles cruelly and shrugs. “Just a couple of home truths. Ask him yourself if you want to know, I’m not repeating it for you.”

Suddenly a body drapes itself over Liam’s back, wrapping its arms around his chest.

“Everything all right here?” Theo asks, hooking his chin over Liam’s shoulder.

“We’re good,” Liam smiles. It’s not a voluntary reaction; normally he’d be annoyed if someone draped themselves all over him. He’s seen Theo annoyed before -on his behalf, actually- but the way Theo’s glaring at Garrett is something else. He looks positively venomous, Garrett the prey and himself the predator. Liam feels safe, he realises.

Garrett’s looking between them both and his jaw is clenched. “Yeah, we’re done here.” He turns and walks away.

Once Garrett’s out of eyesight, Theo unwraps himself from Liam. He looks tired; they both do, actually.

“Sorry, was that okay?” Theo’s anger has dissipated, all traces of it gone. Instead he looks worried; Liam realises Theo probably thinks he’s going to shout at him again.

“Hey, no, it was great. Perfect timing, actually.” Liam closes his locker and walks down the hallway, gesturing for Theo to follow him.

“So just tell me if I’m crossing a line,” Theo says as he falls into step beside Liam, close enough that their shoulders brush together. “But why did you date that guy?”

Liam sighs. “So I’m not defending him, but we have stuff in common and actually got on well? Or I thought we did, anyway. But we’re both on the lacrosse team, like the same video games, stuff like that. It just seemed obvious, I guess.”

They walk into the cafeteria, taking a seat at an empty table. The bell’s going to ring in a few minutes, there’s no point heading outside.

“I’m glad,” Theo admits. “That you didn’t forgive him, I mean. You deserve better.”

He looks and sounds so sincere that Liam can feel himself starting to blush, only this time it’s light enough that there’s no way he can hide it. He glances at Theo; he’s grinning, the asshole. His usual good mood appears to be firmly back in place, as if the previous day never even happened.

“Shut up,” Liam mutters, trying to shrink into his jumper.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Theo says innocently, but he’s still grinning.

 

***

 

Mason sits next to Corey at lunch without any prompting and Liam’s pretty proud of him. He kind of wishes he could just knock their heads together, though. To him it’s obvious that they like each other, and he’s pretty sure it’s obvious to Theo and Hayden, too. Still, he’s confident that they’ll work it out.

Liam sits next to Theo. “You good?” he asks.

Theo nods around a bite of a sandwich.

“So Val’s got her interview soon,” Hayden says.

“For the Sheriff’s job? Jordan’s applied for it, too. Lydia said he was kind of nervous about it,” Liam adds.

“Nothing against Jordan, but I hope Val gets it.” Then she sighs. “I barely see her as it is, though.”

Mason and Corey are chattering away quietly, apparently oblivious to the rest of them.

“It’s the same for me with my parents,” Liam admits. “I know their jobs are important and that they love what they do, but sometimes I wish I could spend more time with them.”

Theo’s finished his sandwich -the boy eats like it’s going out of fashion- and clears his throat. “That just makes the time you spend with them better, right? Your parents, Liam, and your sister, Hayden.”

“Exactly,” Liam smiles, Hayden also making a noise of agreement. He could have just misheard, but he thinks he heard Hayden whisper ‘sorry’ to Theo.

Theo’s got a hand resting on the bleachers between the two of them. Without even really thinking, Liam takes it in his own. Theo looks surprised for a moment, but then he flips his hand around so that their palms are pressed together, squeezing tighter.

Hayden notices, silently observing them. When nobody says anything about it, Hayden huffs.

“Are neither of you going to ask?” She nudges Mason and Corey, getting their attention. They just look blankly at her and she rolls her eyes. “Fine, I’ll do it myself.” She gestures to Liam and Theo’s entwined hands. “What’s up with this?”

Liam glances at Theo, only to find those ethereal green eyes staring right back at him. They hold a silent conversation in the space of a few seconds, Liam trying desperately to convey that he won’t say anything about last night that Theo isn’t willing to say himself. He briefly, almost reluctantly, considers letting go of Theo’s hand, overly aware that the others are scrutinising them. Theo hasn’t made any attempt to move though, so he stays as they are.

“We’re just bros holding hands,” Theo shrugs. “And I resent your No Homo attitude in our Pro Homo world.”

Hayden scoffs. “Well _I_ resent you No Homoing me. I’d say putting up with all of your gay asses on a daily basis makes me pretty Pro Homo.”

“I’m bisexual, thank you very much,” Theo huffs.

“Yes you are, and I’m proud of you,” Hayden pats his head mock patronisingly. She tries to keep a straight face, but can’t help laughing when Theo pouts at her. He pulls her in for a one armed hug, still holding Liam’s hand with his other.

 

***

 

They lost against Beacon Heights. It’s frustrating because they didn’t necessarily do anything _wrong_ , the other team just played better. Having to respond to all the texts they accrue during the game telling people that they lost isn’t fun. There’s two more than usual; Corey and Hayden have texted him, too.

It doesn’t help the mood at their post-game festivities either; after every game, win or lose, the team always goes to Hale’s Diner.

The owner, Derek, gives them a sympathetic smile when they all come in, heads downcast. He’s a bit weird, or maybe _eccentric_  is the right word. Either way, he and his husband Stiles are a good match and they know how to make good food. Even if Stiles makes a bit of a show of taking all their orders, he always enjoys having a chat with them; he was on the team when he was in high school, and it’s always fun sharing stories about Coach Finstock, past and present, and laughing over them.

Even so, nobody’s really up for staying too long after they’ve finished their meals. They pay up, Liam privately smiling over the Baby Gays Discount he gets. It’s probably the best kept secret in Beacon Hills; Stiles and Derek only give it to the queer kids. Although they didn’t struggle personally when they were Liam’s age, they’re all too aware of the financial difficulties that young queer people can face and want to do their part to try and help, however small. Liam tips well when he can, because he’s not an asshole, so the total probably more or less tallies up anyway, but their consideration is very much appreciated.

As they all file out of the diner, Liam sees Stiles and Derek embracing through the service window in the kitchen. He’s hit by a pang of longing; he wants the comfort, the safety, the security that they have with each other. He thought he had it with Garrett -or something similar to it, anyway- but he was sorely mistaken. Coming to the Diner normally makes him happy, but tonight it’s just a reminder of what he wants but doesn’t have. Right on cue, Garrett laughs at something that someone else on the team must have said. Liam glares at him, and it’s as if he senses he’s being watched. He turns around, laugh cutting off and his smile morphing into a frown when he sees Liam glaring at him.

Those who can drive normally carpool the rest of the team home, but Liam declines a lift. He’s not really in the mood for company, suddenly.

 

It’s not too late -still semi light out, in fact- but the streets are weirdly quiet. He gets his phone out, surprised when he sees he’s got a text notification. Then again, the diner’s always kind of loud, it shouldn’t really be surprising that he didn’t hear it come in.

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** How did the game go??

 

The texts from Corey and Hayden had been a nice surprise, but he didn’t smile nearly as widely when he read theirs as he is now.

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:** We lost, it was pretty close though

Just bad luck I guess

 

Liam actually jumps when his phone beeps just a few seconds later. For what is possibly the first time ever, Theo’s replied to his text quickly.

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** Aww dude :(

That sucks, you okay?

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:**  Yeah I’ll be fine

We’ll just have to beat them next time

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** Be like the penguins

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:**  ?????

You’re gonna need to give me more than that

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** The rockhopper penguins go out to sea to get food for their chicks

But when they get back they need to scale a cliff to actually reach them

Only they’re way better at swimming than walking, so they fall

A lot

Like they literally just fall off cliffs and it’s painful to watch

 

Liam chuckles to himself, deciding to break up Theo’s wall of texts

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:** This is going somewhere right?

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** Yes! Be patient!

So even though the penguins fall over and over

They always get back up and keep trying

Until they finally reach the top

So be like the penguins

Keep trying even when you fall

And you’ll reach the top :)

 

The warm feeling’s back in his chest and he’s outright grinning at his phone. He probably looks stupid, but he can’t help it.

 

**To: Theo**

**Liam:** Thanks Theo

That actually helped haha

 

He’s been walking on autopilot and all of a sudden he’s in front of his house. He blinks, surprised. Still, he’s in a significantly better mood.

 

**To: Liam**

**Theo:** :D 

 

He can hear the TV in the living room when he goes inside, so he heads through to find his dad dozing. David wakes up at the sound of Liam’s footsteps, though.

“Hey dad,” he says, flopping down on the couch and sighing. The exertion of playing is catching up to him now and sitting down feels ridiculously good.

“Hey kiddo. You’re in a surprisingly good mood after a loss,” David notes.

Liam can feel himself blushing; he kind of hates that his emotions are always so obvious.

“It’s nothing.”

“Well, you can tell me when it becomes _something _,__ ” David smiles knowingly.

Liam’s sure he’s going even redder but nods anyway, trying to find a comfortable position on the couch. “What’re we watching?”

David passes him the remote. “Anything except for medical dramas. I’ve had enough of that for one day.”

“Deal,” Liam laughs, flicking through the channels. He settles on a generic action movie, the two of them watching it until they both end up dozing.


	7. Chapter 7

Liam might have fallen asleep before he did his history homework. Some teachers give a degree of leniency to students who play sports, and Liam knows Mr. Mendoza is one of them. It doesn’t stop him feeling bad though - he likes history, finds the facts interesting. He’s never been late with his history homework before.

It’s early, the bell hasn’t rang yet. Liam approaches Mr. Mendoza’s classroom, sees him sitting at his desk through the window in the door. He lingers for a second before biting the bullet and chapping the door, waiting until Mr. Mendoza motions for him to come in before he goes inside.

“Morning Liam, you’re in early today.”

“Yeah, morning.” He shifts on the soles of his feet, Mr. Mendoza taking a sip of his coffee while he waits for Liam to work up the nerve to say what he came in for. “I haven’t done my homework,” he sighs.

Mr. Mendoza’s mouth dips down into a frown. “That’s not like you, Liam. Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, yeah. There was just some…” he thinks of lying beneath the stars, of Theo’s red rimmed eyes, “…uh, personal stuff, and then there was the lacrosse game yesterday. I just ran out of time. I’m sorry.”

“How long will you need to finish it?”

“I could probably do it over lunch? I can go to the library and give it to you after that.”

Mr. Mendoza is silent for a moment and Liam starts fidgeting again, not quite able to stand still.

“That’s fine, but tell me if you need longer, okay? I’d rather you hand in good work than rushed work.”

“I will, thank you.” Liam’s relieved; Mr. Mendoza is still frowning slightly, but he doesn’t seem to be planning on interrogating Liam any further.

Liam’s nearly out the door when Mr. Mendoza calls his name. He stiffens momentarily before going back over to the desk.

“I’m going to tell the class later, but I would feel bad not telling you now when I’ve already spoken to you.” He takes another sip of his coffee, the teacher-approved form of liquid confidence, and sighs. “I was successful for an interview at another school. I’ve already handed in my notice; I’m leaving at the end of the month.”

“Oh.” Liam’s not sure what he was expecting but it wasn’t that. “Uh, congratulations.” Then, with more conviction, “Congratulations. Do you know who’s replacing you?”

Mr. Mendoza shakes his head. “No, but I’m sure they’ll be great.” Liam’s still kind of staring at him dumbly. Mr. Mendoza seems to realise that Liam’s not really sure what to say. “Sorry Liam, I know this is probably a bit of a surprise. Keep up the hard work though, okay?”

“I will,” Liam promises.

When Liam leaves the classroom he promptly texts Mason the news, starting with, ‘You can’t tell anyone, but…’

 

***

 

Mr. Mendoza revealed his news in class earlier; Liam and Mason pretended to be surprised, which he’s pretty sure Mr. Mendoza appreciated. Liam briefly meets up with Mason in the cafeteria to buy lunch together. He can’t hang around though, the library is beckoning him. It’s easy enough to find an empty table, the handful of other people taking notes with stressed faces seemingly in a similar situation. Flipping to the right page in the textbook, he puts earphones in and takes bites of his lunch while writing the answers. Thankfully it’s not taking him long - he’s already on the third question by the time he finishes his food. Not that he expected it to, History’s the one academic subject he can confidently say he’s doing just as good as, if not better than, Mason.

He’s so focused that he doesn’t notice the chair next to him being pulled out until Theo’s sitting down.

“Hey,” Liam smiles as he pulls an earphone out.

“Hey,” Theo smiles back, accepting the earphone Liam offers him. “Don’t worry, I won’t distract you. Mason said you’re catching up on homework.”

Liam nods, grateful, and resumes the question he was on. His bag is on the floor and Theo leans down to open it. Liam kind of wonders what he’s doing, but when Theo sits back up properly he’s holding the hoodie Liam brought with him today. He takes the earphone out, pulls the hoodie over his head - hood included - and puts the earphone back in. Then he leans against the desk, crosses his arms and rests his head on them.

Liam glances at Theo occasionally between questions. He hasn’t moved, and if he has any complaints about the music then he hasn’t said anything. Then again, it’s pretty hard to hate pop-punk in Liam’s opinion.

There’s still ten minutes of lunch left when Liam finishes the questions and checks over them, and Theo still hasn’t moved. Liam puts his stuff away then mimics Theo’s position, laying down against the table so that he can see his face. Theo’s eyes are closed; Liam can hear the even puffs of his breath when he takes his earphone out. He’s sleeping.

Societal disapproval aside, Liam watches him for a minute. The bags under his eyes are still prominent, but his face is relaxed. Liam’s never seen Theo look so… peaceful. Worry free. He hadn’t realised it until now, but when he’s awake Theo’s always fighting some sort of battle behind those mysterious green eyes. Only now that it’s gone does Liam realise it’s been there at all. When Theo’s relaxed, it’s there. When Theo’s smiling, it’s there. When Theo’s laughing, it’s there. How did he not notice?

It only serves to exacerbate how worried Liam is about him, between this and the other night. He’s been a lot more reserved since then. It just doesn’t seem right. Theo doesn’t want him to ask what’s wrong, but Liam’s not sure how long he can respect that for. Corey and Hayden know _something_ , but are they even doing anything to help? Then again, he doesn’t know how often or little they talk to each other outside school. The urge is there again to reach out, to hold him. It’s not just to comfort him though - in the past few minutes it’s morphed into a need to _protect_  him.

“Theo,” Liam says quietly, then when that has no effect he shakes his shoulder gently. Theo grumbles unhappily and burrows his head further into his arms, so Liam shakes him again. “Theo, come on. Lunch is nearly over.”

He groans but sits up, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. “I’m stealing your hoodie,” Theo declares.

“And what if I was planning on wearing it?” Liam raises an eyebrow.

“Then too bad,” Theo shrugs, returning Liam’s earphone. Liam rolls them up and puts them in his bag, Theo following suit when he stands up. Theo’s a little taller than him but Liam’s broader, so the hoodie’s a nice fit. The same as everything else Liam’s seen him wearing, it looks good on him.

“I need to go hand this in,” Liam says, gathering up his stuff. He leaves the statement open but is weirdly pleased when Theo decides to follow him. They drop by Liam’s locker first so he can put his textbook away.

“Hey, hit me with an animal fact.” Liam opens his locker and when he looks up, Theo’s smiling at him.

“You actually like those?”

“Yeah, they’re cool.” He could use any number of words to describe them, actually; weird, concerning, informative, interesting. They’re all accurate, but cool gets the point across.

“Hmm.” A smirk dances on Theo’s lips, “How about… the kraken. Or giant squid, if you don’t want to go all Pirates of the Caribbean. They only captured one on video for the first time a couple of years ago. Like, there were pictures of them before that because their bodies float. But nobody had actually been able to video it.”

“That’s really cool.”

“Definitely cool,” Theo agrees.

“I take it they don’t actually destroy ships then?”

Theo laughs, eyes bright. He always looks excited when he’s talking about this stuff.

“I mean, maybe? They live really deep underwater, that’s partly why nobody could film them. But all the kraken rumours need to come from somewhere, right?”

“Yeah, true. Hold that thought.” They’re outside Mr. Mendoza’s classroom. He’s not in the room, so Liam just leaves his homework on his desk. Sunlight is streaming in through the windows and Liam’s sorry he had to miss it in the dark, dingy library. He can’t really see the bleachers from there but wants to imagine Mason, Corey and Hayden all out there enjoying the sun.

He shouldn’t meddle. He shouldn’t. But if Mason’s not going to do anything about it then a little prompting can’t hurt.

“Listen, Corey’s into Mason, right? I’m not just misreading it?” Liam asks.

Theo laughs, accompanied by the crinkly eyed smile that Liam wants to see far more often. “Yeah, he likes Mason. He’s been pining over him for ages.”

Liam whacks Theo’s arm excitedly. “Mason’s liked Corey for ages too!” he whisper shouts, not wanting anyone nearby to overhear but also not quite able to contain his excitement. “I’ve been trying to convince him to ask Corey out, but he’s scared Corey’s gonna say no.”

“What, seriously?” Theo asks and Liam says yeah. “Corey wants to ask Mason out too, but he’s too nervous. Wow, our friends are dumb.”

“Yep,” Liam laughs. Neither of them mention Theo’s supposed crush on Liam. Liam doesnt mention his own on Theo. It’s too soon.

“Right,” he tells Theo. “It looks like we need to do something about this, then. Maybe get Hayden in on it too?”

The devious smirk on Theo’s face is all the confirmation Liam needs.

“By the way, Mason and I are going to the mall after school, you wanna join us? We can ask Corey and Hayden too, make an event of it.” One of the few good things Liam can say about Coach Finstock is that he never makes them practice the day after a game.

“I-” Theo almost looks blindsided for a second, and that’s when the bell decides to ring. Liam watches him expectantly, tries not to let it turn into worry.

“I’d need to check.” He starts walking away to his next class, not waiting for Liam to follow. It’s almost like a dismissal.

Liam blinks, surprised, then jogs a few steps to catch up. It’s like Theo’s personality has just done a complete one-eighty shift in the matter of a few seconds.

“Hey,” Liam gently grasps Theo’s arm, letting go when he turns around. “No pressure, yeah? Meet us in the car park after school if you can come, I’ll ask Hayden and Corey too.”

Theo nods then splits off to go to his class. When Liam gets to Biology and sits with Hayden, he’s left wondering what just happened.

 

***

 

Theo didn’t show. It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but it was still disappointing. Hayden and Corey both agreed to come, and the four of them waited outside next to Mason’s car for a few minutes. That’s when Hayden noticed Theo’s truck wasn’t in the car park anywhere, so Mason drove the four of them to the mall. At least Liam wasn’t the only one who looked disappointed.

Hayden’s the only one who’s bought anything - she somehow convinced all three of them to join her while she tried on clothes. Corey and Liam grumbled half heartedly, Mason stoically accepted his fate. Although Hayden might not have admitted it, Liam could tell she was enjoying all the attention.

 

Liam puts the tray of milkshakes on the table and sits down. Mason’s raving about speeding ticket fines in Finland being proportional to the person’s income; Corey’s listening attentively, watching Mason with painfully obvious heart eyes.

“That’s such a good idea, actually,” Hayden says, smiling at Liam when she takes her milkshake. “I know Val feels bad when she gives them to people who can’t afford them.”

“Couldn’t people just drive in the speed limit?” Corey asks.

“Most people do, though. Besides, people don’t deserve to be financially crippled over a speeding ticket.”

“That’s true,” Corey shrugs. Mason and Liam make noises of agreement.

Hayden gets a text and positively beams at her phone while she replies.

“What’re you smiling about, huh? Is a _boy_  texting you?” Mason teases.

“Shut up,” Hayden rolls her eyes, still smiling. “You’ll see.”

Liam’s not sure when Mason and Hayden got on good enough terms to tease each other like that. It’s nice, though.

They get their answer a minute or two later Hayden starts waving her hand in the air. They all look over and see why - against all likelihood, Theo’s in the food court and he’s walking towards them. And he’s still wearing Liam’s hoodie. It’s weirdly pleasing, for some reason.

Liam knows his face is doing something stupid. He doesn’t care though, just lets it happen as Theo weaves through the other tables to reach them.

“Glad you could make it, man,” Mason smiles. Corey pulls a chair over from the empty table next to them.

“Want a milkshake?” Liam’s already standing up before Theo answers.

“Uh, sure.” He follows Liam to the milkshake stand and they both get in line. “So what’s good? I usually just get strawberry.”

“Can’t go wrong with strawberry,” Liam shrugs. When Theo doesn’t respond he starts humming along to the song playing over the speakers. He can feel Theo’s eyes on him when the song finishes. Despite Theo smiling softly, he’s absently rubbing the sleeve of Liam’s hoodie between his fingers.

“Sorry for not answering earlier, by the way. I had some stuff to do and I didn’t know how long it was gonna take.” It’s a statement just vague enough that it gives a bit of detail, yet doesn’t prompt any further questioning.

“Don’t worry about it, you’re here now,” Liam says, leaving it at that.

It’s nearly their turn to order. One of the girls in front of them is given what Liam can only describe as a monstrosity of a milkshake, topped with inches of whipped cream, sauce and sprinkles; Theo’s staring at it longingly.

“You’re not serious,” Liam says, tracking his gaze.

“... I might be.” Liam’s almost expecting Theo to laugh, or say he’s kidding, or something. He doesn’t.

“So Theo Raeken has a sweet tooth, huh? Good to know.” Liam teases, bumping shoulders with him.

Theo narrows his eyes. “You’re not getting any.”

When it’s their turn, Theo orders the monstrosity.

 

Liam’s milkshake is missing a few mouthfuls when they get back to the table. He scrutinises them but they all have their best poker faces on. It doesn’t matter though, they share each other’s milkshakes to try the different flavours. Theo’s milkshake is just as sickly sweet as he expected it to be.

None of them can really be bothered moving. The milkshakes are all finished, even Theo’s monstrosity, the empty cups all on the table. Liam looks around and it hits him how comfortable they’ve all become with each other. Somewhere over the past few weeks of sitting together at lunch, the dynamic between the five of them has shifted from acquaintanceship to friendship.

“We’ve been round already, but do you need anything?” Liam asks when they’re getting ready to leave.

Theo thinks for a moment, says, “Not really,” even though his face says different.

“You sure?”

“Well… I want to try out different wheel sizes on my skateboard. They’re kind of expensive though,” Theo sighs.

Hayden chooses that moment to very unsubtly declare she needs to leave. After she gives them a look, Corey and Mason agree. Theo leans in and says something quietly to Hayden which makes her laugh.

“Looks like it’s just us then,” Liam says when the others leave. “Might as well go and look, lead the way.”

 

“Oh wow.” There’s an entire section dedicated purely to wheels. There are so many different designs and miniscule differences in size - literally millimetres - that Liam’s not sure how people can actually choose what ones to buy. And like Theo said, they’re not exactly cheap considering the size of them.

“What’s the difference between sizes?” he asks.

Theo examines a set, promptly putting them back when he sees the price. “Bigger wheels are faster. They’re more suited for distance though, like out on the streets and stuff. That’s what I’ve got on mine.” He flips through more sets; some have sale stickers on them but he doesn’t pick them up. They must be the wrong size or something. “Smaller wheels are better for tricks and rails and stuff. It would be cool to try smaller wheels, see if they make a difference or if I’m just shit at it.”

“Hey, you’re not shit. I thought you were good.”

“I fell on my ass right in front of you.”

“Hmm, fair point. Maybe you’re a little bit shit.” Liam laughs when Theo shoves him. He’s smiling too, though. “I bet I’d be great at skateboarding if I tried it.”

“What, seriously? You’ve never tried?” Theo’s eyes light up. “You need to let me teach you some time.”

“Yeah, sounds fun. I get to teach you lacrosse too, though.”

Liam’s only half joking, knows that even though Theo doesn’t hate it he’s not exactly a fan. Theo narrows his eyes but there’s still excitement in them.

“Deal.”

 

They both flick through the different sets of wheels. Liam wants to find a good set for Theo because he’s starting to look a bit dejected.

“Hey, look. These ones are on sale, twenty bucks.” Liam pulls a set off the rack; 51mm, he hasn’t seen many that are smaller.

“Yeah…” Theo’s looking at them almost wistfully. “Maybe next time. I think I’m done in here.”

“Oh. Okay.” Liam puts them back on the rack. Then an idea hits him. “I’m gonna look at the lacrosse stuff for a minute, wait outside for me?”

“Sure,” Theo says. He starts walking back through the store. Once he’s out of eyesight, Liam picks up the set of small wheels that are on sale. Before he can overthink it, he takes them to the counter and buys them, putting them in his bag along with the receipt.

Liam finds Theo texting when he gets outside the store. He smiles when he sees Liam, taps his phone a bit more then puts it away.

“Anyone interesting?” Liam asks.

“Just my mom. Wants to know if I’m having a good time,” Theo rolls his eyes but there’s a fondness to it.

“And what did you tell her?”

Theo leaves him hanging for a second. “I told her yes.”

Warmth blooms inside Liam. Theo’s having a good time with him. Maybe even _because_  of him.

 

Theo drives Liam home. It’s easy, mellow. They play the radio and roll the windows down, letting the evening breeze cool their skin. Entirely too soon they’re at Liam’s house, Theo idling the car in a space in the street.

“You wanna come inside?” Liam asks.

Theo looks like he wants to, but shakes his head.

“I’d better get home. Today was fun though, thanks.” Theo leans over and wraps Liam in a hug, squeezing softly. Liam wraps his arms around Theo and smiles against his neck. Theo’s warm against Liam’s skin. He smells good, too; always smells good, yet this is inexplicably better, being so close to him. Theo slackens his grip so Liam does too. He pulls away and lets his hand linger on Liam’s shoulder for a few seconds longer before pulling away completely.

“G’night, Liam,” Theo says almost reluctantly.

“Night, Theo.”

It’s only after Theo’s driven away that Liam remembers the skateboard wheels in his bag. He had meant to give them to Theo. Looks like it’ll have to wait.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick notice that if anyone hasn't read the amended Chapter 4 then something that happens here is gonna be pretty confusing.

Liam dreams of Garrett.

It’s not a regular dream as such, more like fragments of memories. He dreams of them at lacrosse practice, paying slightly more attention to each other than to the ball. He dreams of them at Hale’s diner, staring into each other’s eyes as they share a milkshake. He dreams of them play fighting in Liam’s room, shouting and laughing until Garrett kissed the protests out of him. He dreams of Garrett’s head in his lap, carding fingers through his hair as they watched TV…

 

Liam wants. Liam _wants_.

The ache in his chest is its own tangible entity, almost as painful as when he and Garrett first broke up. He wants someone, but he doesn’t want to want someone.

He jumps in the shower in the hope that it’ll wash away his feelings - as well as the dirt - and feels a bit better when he gets out. Stewing in his thoughts has never helped before, as much as he might want to do it, so he grabs some food and leaves the house. Corey’s not expecting him and Mason until later but he probably - hopefully - won’t mind if Liam turns up early.

 

Corey’s eyebrows are furrowed when he answers the door, almost a repeat of the last time Liam came over.

“We said eleven, right?” Corey moves aside to let Liam in.

“Yeah, I just-- Is it fine that I’m early?” Liam asks, toeing his shoes off when Corey nods. He follows Corey to the kitchen, leaning against the spotless counter while Corey gets two sodas from the fridge. There’s not a single item out of place; it’s like a picture from a magazine, to be looked at, envied, but not enjoyed.

Corey hands him one of the sodas and Liam thanks him, cracking it open and taking a sip.

“Wanna go upstairs until Mason gets here?”

“Sure.” Liam follows Corey upstairs, passing by a closed door with an actual, literal, ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the front.

Corey notices Liam looking. “Mom’s office,” he says shortly, rolling his eyes. They go further along the hall until Corey turns into one of the rooms, and Liam can safely say it’s probably the only room in the house with any personality. It’s bigger than his own bedroom, although that’s entirely unsurprising considering what part of town they’re in. The walls are a muted green, as opposed to the clinical white elsewhere; there are posters for indie bands hung up, as well as a pin board covered in pictures. On closer inspection, they’re nearly all pictures of Corey with Hayden and Theo. He can’t help but notice they mostly seem to be taken either at school or the skate park.

“I’ll need to get you and Mason up there too,” Corey says almost like a question. Liam realises it _is_  a question when he turns and sees that Corey looks unsure.

“Sounds good,” Liam smiles. Corey sits on his bed cross legged, relaxing immediately, so Liam takes the beanbag on the floor.

Corey puts some music on and for a while the only other sound is the occasional sipping of soda.

A guy with a mellow voice starts playing an acoustic guitar and singing about his broken heart. Liam can almost feel the hollow in his chest expanding as the song goes on. When it comes to an end, he takes a shaky breath in the silence between the song ending and the next one beginning, just loud enough to unintentionally grab Corey’s attention. He turns the music down and doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to though, Liam can feel his gaze.

“Garrett treated me like shit. I still miss him, though,” he admits, sighing again. The fraying knee on his jeans is suddenly extremely fascinating. “Is that stupid?”

“No,” Corey says honestly. “It’s totally normal to miss something - someone - you’ve lost. Even if they were shitty, they still… represented something that used to be good.”

“Sounds like you’re talking from experience,” Liam notes. Discomfort flashes across Corey’s face briefly.

“Why’d you come over so early, Liam?”

Liam almost chokes at the sudden change in subject. Corey’s looking at him so carefully, as if Liam’s the one who’s going to get spooked. He doesn’t answer immediately but doesn’t break eye contact either. Then he physically sees the realisation hit Corey, the thought forming fully in his head.

“Is it about what happened last time?”

Liam nods. It’s like Corey can see right through him.

“Did you want that to happen again?” Liam hesitates, nodding again. “No Liam, you need to use your words.” Corey’s jaw is clenched almost stubbornly, voice more determined than Liam’s ever heard him. “You need to say yes or no, or nothing else is happening here.”

Corey’s patiently waiting for an answer, eyes boring into him. Liam can’t quite find his words. He doesn’t want Corey himself, not necessarily, but he wants what Corey’s offering. He can’t do this to Mason. Getting off with his best friend’s crush once could hopefully be overlooked. But twice?

He can’t bring himself to say no either.

“ _Yes_ ,” Liam whispers. “ _Please_.”

 

With his cock in Corey’s mouth and a hand in Corey’s hair, Liam can forget about the ache in his chest for a little while. It’s all he needed.

 

*

 

The regret returns almost as soon as Corey pulls off of him. Corey declines the offer of reciprocation again, which is probably for the best.

Corey opens the window and Liam adjusts himself, repositioning the beanbag beneath him so that he’s on top of it rather than in the middle of it.

“Lucas. My ex. He was…” Corey begins, still looking out the window. He sighs and sits on his bed again. “We weren’t good for each other. Honestly, we only really dated because we both liked guys. Apart from that, we were total opposites.” Corey takes a drink of his soda, then another. The song that’s playing ends and Corey takes the opportunity to flick through his music, changing the song half a dozen times before settling on one.

“He didn’t really ask how I felt, he just kind of did what he wanted and dragged me along for the ride. So I ended up in situations that made me uncomfortable a lot. I didn’t know how to just tell him that, but at the same time I feel like he should have noticed? He moved away so we broke up, but. Yeah.”

“That sucks,” Liam says simply and raises his can. “Here’s to the Shitty Ex-boyfriends Club.”

Corey smiles and raises his can too, both of them taking a drink like it’s a toast.

 

A few songs later Corey’s phone starts ringing.

“It’s Mason,” he tells Liam then answers the call. “Hi Mason. Cool, be there in a second.” He stands up and puts his phone back in his pocket. “He’s outside.”

Liam gulps and gets up too, inexplicably worried that Mason will look at them and somehow know what just happened.

They go downstairs and let Mason inside.

“Hey Corey.” Mason’s almost beaming and Corey’s face lights up too. “Oh Liam, hey, didn’t see you there.”

“I was ready early so I just came over, I’ve only been here a few minutes,” Liam says, answering the question that wasn’t even asked.

“Drinks, guys?” Corey pipes up before Liam can dig an even deeper hole. He’s already pulling some more cans out of the fridge before anyone’s answered and hands one to Mason and Liam.

Mason whistles appreciatively when they enter the den. “Dude, this is sick.”

“Thanks,” Corey blushes, setting up the TV. “Sit down, guys.”

Mason almost sits in the single seat but Liam catches his arm and makes a series of eyebrow gestures at him. Corey’s too busy fiddling with the TV remote to see it, and Mason thankfully gets the message and sits in the middle of the sofa. Liam takes the single seat, meaning Corey either has to sit next to Mason or sit on the floor.

Liam gives Mason a wink when Corey sits down next to him.

 

They watch a few episodes of the show, Mason interjecting with the occasional _‘Oooh this part was good’_  or _‘You’ll never guess what they’re gonna do.’_

Liam’s phone buzzes and apparently the other two have received the same message, if the way they both reach for their phones is anything to go by. He snorts at the picture Hayden’s sent them of her and Val in matching robes and face masks.

Mason and Corey both laugh too and the notification changes to say they’ve both opened it. Theo hasn’t opened it yet, not that Liam can say he’s exactly surprised; the boy is awful at checking his phone.

“It was so funny,” Corey says, getting his and Mason’s attention. “Hayden made Theo get a matching face mask with her when they were dating and he absolutely hated it.”

“Sorry, what? Theo and Hayden dated?” Mason asks, voicing the question Liam wanted to ask.

“Oh, you didn’t know? It was last year, not too long after Theo first moved here. It was kinda weird, to be honest. It only lasted like two weeks until they realised they work better as friends.”

“Huh,” Liam says. He and Mason glance at each other questioningly while Corey seems pretty nonplussed about it. Looks like you learn something new everyday after all.

 

“Gotta go to the bathroom,” Corey says, standing up. “Can we pause it for a minute?”

“Yeah,” Mason and Liam both say, so Corey pauses the TV and leaves the room. The door is barely shut behind him when Mason turns to Liam.

“Am I a cockblock?”

“ _What? _”__  Liam squeaks. Mason can’t be talking about him and Corey, there’s no possible way he could know what they’ve done, have been doing.

“I know I shouldn’t dwell on it, but Garrett said-”

“That’s what he said to you?” Liam interjects. He feels relief for all of half a second before that gives way to anger. “He said you’re a cockblock?”

“Yeah,” Mason mutters, looking genuinely upset about it. “He said I was always getting in the way when he wanted alone time with you.”

“Hey, listen to me.” Liam clenches and unclenches his fists, repeating the action a few times. “You’re my best friend, Mason, I wanted you to hang out with us. Garrett’s just an asshole who says and does asshole things. He doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t have let him get to me,” Mason sighs.

 

Corey returns shortly after, armed with more drinks and snacks. Mason smiles widely when Corey sits back down next to him, even though there aren’t really any other options.

Liam can’t focus on the show anymore. The guilt of what he and Corey have been doing and his anger towards Garrett are running rampant inside his head. He has to give up before the current episode ends.

He pulls his phone out and unlocks it, then waits a few seconds and sighs loudly enough for Mason and Corey to look at him.

“Apparently Aria won’t go for her afternoon nap without seeing me,” he smiles, trying his best to make it look genuine.

“You’re just too good at the big brother thing,” Mason laughs.

“Guess so. You guys can keep watching if you want, I can catch up myself. See you later guys.”

They both say bye to him and when Corey’s not looking, Liam makes even more eyebrow gestures at Mason. Mason mostly succeeds in holding back a laugh as Liam slips out the door.

 

***

 

Liam’s met by a burst of laughter when he opens his front door. Jenna and Lydia are sitting at the kitchen counter with some drinks, their heads thrown back and grins on their faces. Presumably Aria and Christine are somewhere nearby, although he hasn’t seen them yet.

“I know, I know, can you believe it?” Lydia asks, wiping her eye to catch a stray tear before it can fall.

“That Jordan’s really something,” Jenna laughs. “Oh, hi honey,” she smiles, motioning for him to come into the kitchen.

“Hey mom, hey Lydia.”

Lydia greets him, voice still slightly higher than usual from the remnants of laughter. It’s quiet enough now that Liam can hear the TV in the living room, the unmistakable tune of a Disney song coming from it.

“How’s my favourite son today, huh?” Jenna smiles.

“Yeah, I’m fine. If you don’t mind I’m just gonna…” he waves a hand vaguely and backs up. Jenna and Lydia give each other a look but don’t comment, so he’s able to escape up to his bedroom.

Liam flops back on his bed and groans. The walk home really didn’t help with the overthinking and the guilt and the whatever the hell else he’s feeling. He almost thinks he’d rather be having an episode - at least with his IED there’s a clear climax and comedown from his episodes. This, he doesn’t know how to fix.

There’s a chap on his door and then the bed dips. He doesn’t need to look to know who it is.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Jenna asks softly, carding a hand through his hair. “Are you sick?”

“No.”

“Lovesick?”

“...No.”

Jenna sighs. “Do you still like him?”

“No,” Liam says firmly, and he means it. Even if he was still romantically interested in Garrett, there’s no way he could trust him again now after everything that’s happened. “It’s not him, it’s someone else. Dad knows about him. Well, kind of, I mean I didn’t really go into detail but-”

“Liam.”

This time it’s Liam’s turn to sigh. “It’s Theo. I already know he likes me, but I didn’t plan to like him too. It’s just… it’s too soon, isn’t it? I trusted Garrett and he hurt me. How can I trust Theo?”

“The heart wants what the heart wants, honey.” Jenna coaxes him into sitting up and pulls him into a hug. “You can’t withhold your trust from people who haven’t done anything to break it, Liam. I trusted again after your dad-”

“He’s not my dad, David is,” Liam interjects.

“Yes, yes, okay. But just think what would’ve happened if I said no when David asked me on that first date, hmm? I was scared of getting hurt again, of my trust getting broken again. But he didn’t hurt me. He still hasn’t hurt me. And if I’d said no to that date then we wouldn’t have him, we wouldn’t have Aria.” Jenna’s smiling to herself, probably unaware she’s even doing it. “I know it’s difficult, honey, but you have to keep putting yourself out there until you find that person who’s not going to hurt you.”

“I want you to be right,” he whispers. Jenna wraps her arms around him tighter and he leans into her hold.

After a few minutes Liam sits up again and Jenna releases him.

“Is Lydia still downstairs?”

“Oh yes. She’s probably in the middle of a Disney singalong as we speak.” She looks decidedly amused by the idea.

“Shouldn’t you go and rescue her?”

“Lydia’s a very capable woman, honey. I’m sure she can look after herself. Besides, I had to make sure my Lima Bean was alright.”

“Mooom,” Liam whines, laughing.

“Hey, you’re never too old for nicknames,” Jenna smirks playfully.

 

***

 

Liam loves his little sister. He does.

He does _not_ , however, appreciate being woken up by her during the weekend.

“Liammm.”

The bed dips as she walks up it, then she drops down to sit near his head. Liam groans at her and half-heartedly bats an arm in her direction.

“Mason’s here, you have to get up.”

Liam opens an eye to peek at her and she’s almost right in front of his face, smiling at him.

“Y’know, Aria, you shouldn’t wake up sleepy boys.”

“Why not?” she asks, eyebrows furrowing. Liam slowly begins to sit up.

“Because, they turn into… _tickle monsters! _”__  

Liam grabs Aria and she squeals as he tickles her sides. She tries to wriggle out of his grip so Liam moves up to her armpits, eliciting more squeals of laughter from her.

“Okay, okay,” Liam says, releasing Aria. “I’ll get dressed. Can you tell Mason I’ll be down in a minute?”

“Yeah!” Aria jumps off the bed, still giggling as she runs out the door.

 

Liam finds Mason sitting at the kitchen counter talking to David when he goes downstairs a few minutes later. He gets some juice from the fridge and Mason stands up, finishing what he’s saying to David and clapping Liam on the shoulder.

“Can we go to your room?” Mason asks.

“Sure,” Liam shrugs, letting Mason lead the way. The act of getting up feels entirely redundant now.

“So,” Mason says as soon as Liam shuts the door. His grin is almost splitting his mouth in two. “Corey and I kissed. A lot.”

“Finally!” Liam laughs, his smile close to matching Mason’s. “I’m so happy for you, man.”

“I wanted to tell you in person. Thanks for getting us alone, you’re a great friend.”

Mason pulls him into a hug and Liam’s smile falters as he wraps his arms around Mason’s back. Mason wouldn’t be saying that if he knew what he and Corey had been doing earlier that day. He pulls away and sees a patch of skin on Mason’s neck which is darker than the rest. From this close proximity there’s no mistaking what it is.

“Holy shit dude, is that a hickey? That's totally a hickey.”

“It might be.” Mason’s eyes are glimmering with mischief and they both know that the rest of that story is better left unsaid.

“So that’s not all I came over for. We’re going on a date this afternoon and I want to wear the blue denim button-up, but I can’t find it in my closet. Do you know if it’s here?”

“A date, huh?” Liam smirks. Mason smiles bashfully but he’s still too happy to really be embarrassed.

Liam opens his closet and hums when he can’t see the shirt hanging up. He starts digging around in the loose pile of clothes at the bottom of the closet and finds what he’s looking for, pulling it out and handing it to Mason. It’s a little wrinkled, but nothing that can’t be fixed relatively easily.

“Awesome, thanks dude.”

“No problem. Where are you going, anyway?”

“I don’t know yet, Corey said he wants to surprise me.”

Mason’s smile stretches, threatening to split his cheeks again. His excitement is almost palpable, infecting Liam too. He can’t worry about himself and Corey right now, not when his best friend is so happy.

“And you’re gonna tell me everything?”

“Obviously.” Mason rolls his eyes. “So I’ve got a couple of hours before I have to meet Corey. I’d say that’s more than enough time to kick your ass at some video games.”

The grin he gives Liam is almost feral, and Liam gives him a matching one in return.

“Oh, you’re so on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have Morey!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Better late than never?

Mason's positively beaming when he picks Liam up for school. Liam's not exactly surprised, considering how well their date seemed to go. Mason and Corey were both taking pictures and videos throughout their mini golf date, enough for it almost to seem like Liam was there with them. He's learned something new about his best friend though - he kind of sucks at mini golf. Corey's not much better at it either, if the video evidence is anything to go by. Still, he couldn't be happier for Mason.

Even though Garrett was his boyfriend, Liam still needs to remind himself that he’s not the only one who lost him. Mason lost one of his best friends too.

He doesn't feel any less guilty about what he and Corey have done, and he can't risk hurting Mason any more than he already has if this comes out. He knows Corey's a good guy, but now that it looks like he and Mason are officially an item, Liam needs to put a stop to it once and for all. He just needs to get Corey alone to speak to him about it.

"So is it you or Corey who's into hickeys?" Liam asks when they're stopped at a red light.

Mason side-eyes him, trying and failing to hunch his shoulders so that Liam can't see his neck properly. 

“Because it’s starting to look like Sean all over again,” Liam mutters, just loud enough that he knows Mason will hear him.

Sean Walcott, Devenford Prep student and Mason’s ex-boyfriend. Liam still swears that the kid’s secretly a cannibal, the way he used to leave Mason’s neck and collarbones looking like purple constellations pretty much all the time. Thankfully their breakup was civil, just a parting of ways rather than a belligerent mess like Garrett and Liam are.

Playing against Devenford Prep is still a little awkward since Sean’s on the team though. Liam’s never sure whether to just say hi or try and strike up a conversation with him. Or maybe just give a polite nod or something. Still, there’s definitely no hard feelings on any side. There’s just the awkwardness of having had a connection which is now broken.

The punch on his arm is expected - and maybe a little sore - and he laughs at Mason as the light turns green again.

“I’m thinking Corey might be a cannibal too,” Liam teases, just to rile Mason up.

“I swear I will stop this car. Don’t test me, Liam.” There’s a smile in Mason’s voice and Liam belts out a laugh, the most light and carefree sound he’s made in days. It’s hard not to be happy when his best friend’s happy too.

"For real though, I'm really happy for you Mase," Liam says as they’re pulling into the parking lot. “I hope you’re good for each other.”

“I hope so too,” Mason smiles.

That’s when Liam notices Corey lingering at the bottom of the steps at the school’s entrance. He seems to notice them around the same time, his face lighting up when he spots Mason's car. It's pretty adorable, actually. Liam really, really hopes things work out for them.

“Loverboy’s coming over.”

Mason turns quick enough to give himself whiplash, taking off his seatbelt and getting out the car as Corey walks over to them. Liam laughs to himself and joins them, just closing his door as Corey reaches them and kisses Mason.

“As adorable as this is,” Liam says, clapping both of their shoulders to push himself between them. “I need to drag Corey away for a little chat. That cool?”

“Liam,” Mason whines, frowning at him. “Do you need to give him The Talk right now? Like, this very second?”

“I kinda do, yeah. You know you’d do the same for me.”

Mason narrows his eyes and Liam knows he’s won. “That’s fair. Ugh, fine. Just bring him back in one piece. I’ll go and find Hayden and Theo or something.”

“Awesome,” Liam smiles victoriously then rounds on Corey. “Let’s go.”

Corey follows him, a quiet determination in his eyes. They walk until they find a relatively deserted area on the campus, away from any prying eyes.

“So,” Corey starts.

“So,” Liam repeats.

“You can’t ask me to do that anymore,” Corey says, surprising Liam by taking the lead. “It wasn’t as bad when we were both single. Still... not great, but yeah,” he sighs. “Hopefully I’m not single anymore though. I won’t hurt him, Liam. I won’t.”

There’s a fierceness in Corey’s face that Liam hasn’t seen before. He really is serious about Mason.

“That’s exactly what I was going to say to you too,” Liam says, relieved. “We’re done as anything other than friends.”

“Good,” Corey smiles.

“But I do need to ask…” Liam starts and Corey’s face drops slightly. Liam sighs, tries to think of the best way to go about this. “Are you still drinking?”

Corey flinches slightly and his eyes dart around them, ensuring there’s nobody else within earshot. It’s the same deer in the headlights expression he had the first time Liam asked about it. “Not since the last time here at school. I’m… It’s difficult without it. It helped. I know that’s not healthy,” Corey adds before Liam can say anything.

Liam’s reassured by that. Corey’s a good guy, truly. “Have you thought any more about seeing someone?”

“I’ve thought about it,” Corey grimaces. “It’s scary, to be honest. I still don’t feel great but I want to try and be good for Mason.”

Liam nods in understanding. “I know it is, I was scared out of my mind when my parents arranged an appointment with a psychiatrist for me. I just mean…” Liam grimaces and runs a hand through his hair. This is gonna sound bad no matter how he words it. “You said you want to try and be good for Mason, but what if you and him don’t work out?”

“You don’t think we’re gonna work out?” Corey asks defensively.

“No, no, I mean  _if_  you don’t work out, then what? You’re just gonna go back to using alcohol as a coping mechanism? You need to be better for yourself first, because it’s what __you__  want, before you think about other people.”

The tension in Corey’s face drains away. “Oh. Okay, I get that.”

“Awesome, I’m glad we’ve got that sorted,” Liam smiles. “Now back to the original topic. If you hurt him, I’ll kill you. Sound fair?” Liam asks, still smiling.

Corey blinks once, twice, at the sudden shift. “Yeah.” Then Corey smirks at him. “Same goes for you and Theo.”

This time it’s Liam’s turn to be caught off guard, but thankfully the bell rings and saves him the trouble. 

 

***

 

“Liam, have you done the Biology homework?” Hayden asks. “I got stuck on question ten.”

Liam’s face falls. “Biology homework?”

“Oh my god,” Hayden laughs.

“It’s not funny!” Liam whines. He looks around at the others and they’ve all got smiles on their faces too. “Please tell me you’re not serious.”

“Deadly serious.” Hayden opens her bag and pulls out her notebook. “Here,” she says, handing it over. “Just don’t copy it word for word.”

“You’re a lifesaver.” Liam starts copying out his answers, pleased when he actually recognises some of the content.

“Do you have the questions there Hayden? I could take a look at the one you’re stuck on,” Theo says.

“I’ll take a look too if you want,” Mason adds.

Mason and Theo have AP Biology together, they’ve worked on questions during lunch before. All Liam has to say after seeing some of their notes is that he’s glad he’s just doing regular Biology, considering how difficult he finds that.

“Thanks guys,” Hayden smiles, passing them the question sheet when they gather around her.

Mason goes back to kissing Corey after helping Hayden. Theo stays by Liam’s side though, arms pressed against each other, a warm and comfortable presence.

By the time the bell rings, Liam and Hayden both have completed homework assignments. Hopefully Mrs Finch won’t complain about his work for once.

 

***

 

Theo’s off school the next day.

He’s been off a few times now, since they all started hanging out. His immune system kinda sucks.

Liam hasn’t been sick for months, thankfully. The whole athlete thing probably helps, to be honest. Either that or he’s just lucky.

Every time Theo’s been off, an unwelcome pang of _something_  has settled itself in Liam’s chest when he’s realised that Theo isn’t there. He doesn’t even get that when Mason’s off sick. Mostly he just gets annoyed that he has to catch the bus.

Theo’s really fun to talk to, is the thing. Not that Mason and the others aren’t, of course. It’s just that some of Theo’s interests are so vastly different to the other people Liam talks to that he doesn’t know what Theo’s going to come out with next. All the random animal facts Theo keeps hitting him with are kind of great.

 

“What’s wrong with you?” Hayden asks when Liam joins them at the bleachers.

“Nothing.”

Hayden raises an eyebrow. “You’re scowling.”

“I’m not scowling.”

He might be scowling. Just a little bit.

It’s not his fault that people insist on pushing in the lunch line. What’s so difficult about just waiting your turn?

Mason ditched him too, so that’s a thing. A few extra minutes to spend making out with Corey is more important than eating, apparently.

Liam automatically narrows his eyes at the two of them, sitting a little bit further away than usual, attached at their mouths.

Hayden follows his gaze. “How long before that stops being really cute and starts being really annoying?”

“I’ll give it… three days,” Liam shrugs.

Mason flips them off in response, not taking his lips off of Corey’s for a second.

Liam laughs and turns to Hayden. “Do you know what’s wrong with Theo? He hasn’t replied to my text.”

“Just a cold,” Hayden says quickly, continuing to watch Mason and Corey rather than look at Liam. “He should be back soon.”

“Oh, okay.”

Hayden finally turns away from Mason and Corey after one particularly wet sounding kiss, frowning as she averts her eyes.

“It didn’t take three days,” she mutters.

Liam smiles, bumping her arm. “Thanks for yesterday, by the way.”

Hayden bumps him back. “Thanks for not blatantly copying my answers.”

“Hey, guys?” Liam says, trying to get everyone’s attention. Mason and Corey keep kissing. “Guys?” he says again, and finally their kissing trails off. “When’s Theo normally free out of school?”

“Um,” Corey says, glancing at Hayden.

“Why?” Hayden asks.

“At the mall he said he wanted to learn how to play lacrosse. I don’t really know if he was being serious. Anyway,” he says when Mason raises an eyebrow. “I thought we could all do it? If you guys want to,” he says, more to Hayden and Corey than to Mason.

“Sure, sounds fun,” Hayden shrugs.

Corey doesn’t look so sure, shuffling so that he’s almost behind Mason.

“How would we do it?” Mason asks. “In pairs?”

“Sure,” Liam says.

“There,” Mason says to Corey. “I pretty much know how to play lacrosse anyway, I could take you and Liam could take Hayden and Theo.”

“I could even ask Brett when he’s free, the more the merrier,” Liam says.

Apart from being good at lacrosse - not that Liam would ever actually admit that to his face - it’s just been a while since they’ve seen each other outside of Sinema. It’d be nice to catch up.

“Sinema Brett?” Corey asks.

“Yeah, he goes to Devenford,” Hayden says.

“And he’s got an _eight pack_ ,” Mason faux whispers.

Corey looks at Mason questioningly, then to Liam and Hayden for confirmation. They both nod.

“... Alright. I’m in.”

 

***

 

It’s two days before Theo’s back at school.

Liam plops down next to him on the bleachers, smiling broadly.

“Hey, you.”

“Hey,” Theo smiles back, although it’s not quite as bright. The circles under his eyes are bad again, Liam notices. He’s probably still recovering from being sick or something. Liam knows he himself doesn’t sleep all that great when he’s sick.

“Feeling any better?” Liam asks.

“Yeah, getting there,” Theo shrugs. “They move fast,” he says, nodding his head at Mason and Corey. The two of them are kissing again; it’s become a thing. A very regular thing.

“They’re happy,” Liam says simply. “By the way, are you busy tonight?”

Theo stills, suddenly more alert. “Why?”

Hayden sidles up next to Theo and takes his hand, the contact seeming to soothe him.

“So you know how I said I’d teach you how to play lacrosse? I wasn’t joking about that. So I thought why not teach everyone else while we’re at it? I’ve got practice after school but everyone else is free tonight if you are?” Liam tries not to sound too hopeful, but he knows he’s failing by the look on Theo’s face, like he’s being put on the spot. “We can do it some other time if today isn’t good,” Liam adds. “Or if you don’t care about lacrosse at all that’s totally fine too.”

Theo looks at Hayden again and the two of them have a conversation that consists entirely of staring at each other.

“Could I go home first and come back?” Theo asks, apparently having reached an agreement with Hayden.

“Yeah sure,” Liam nods. “Practice’ll be at least an hour and a half. I’ll need a little time to cool off after it too. Does that mean you’re in?” Liam asks, again failing to keep the hopefulness out of his voice.

It’s stupid, he shouldn’t be getting so hung up over this. The others agreed to come, and so did Brett when Liam texted him.

He wants Theo there too, is the thing.

“Fine, I’ll come,” Theo rolls his eyes, the corners of his mouth upturned.

“Awesome!” Liam says, his grin taking over his face. They still don’t hang out very much out of school, but Theo’s the person he sees least. It’s annoying because Theo’s a really cool guy. Still, if everything goes to plan then they’ll get to hang out later. It excites Liam a lot more than it probably should.

Mason breaks away from Corey long enough to whoop, swiftly reconnecting their lips afterwards.

“Definitely annoying,” Liam chirps at Hayden.

It’s totally expected when they get flipped off again, Corey doing it this time. It doesn’t make it any less funny.

 

***

 

Coach Finstock is totally on Liam’s ass the whole way through practice. It’s kind of his own fault, considering he keeps looking over at the bleachers. It doesn’t make it any less fun though.

Mason, Corey and Hayden all waited after school to watch, but Theo disappeared off home. There’s an unwelcome, niggling little doubt in Liam’s head that keeps telling him Theo won’t come back. Practice drags on, time warping itself around the fact that Liam just wants it to be over. Brett shows up and then finally, finally, Theo appears just as they’re winding down for the day.

It’s also not surprising when Coach gives him clean up duty.

“Get your head in the game, Dunbar,” Finstock says, blowing his whistle uncomfortably close to Liam’s ear.

 

“Everyone ready?” Liam asks once he’s cleared away all the extra stuff they won’t need.

There’s a chorus of agreement and Liam gets them all kitted out with the appropriate gear.

Liam pairs up with Theo, Mason teaches Corey, and Brett helps Hayden. Mason backs up his claim that he actually knows stuff about lacrosse, helping Corey get to grips with the basics in no time. Hayden catches on pretty quickly too, her discipline from soccer practice evidently being transferable.

Theo somehow fails at the first hurdle.

“Try holding it like this,” Liam tells him.

Theo just groans in frustration. “How can I be holding a stick wrong?”

“Here, just…” Liam drops his stick and gets behind Theo, taking hold of his hands. “Your left hand shouldn’t be that high up, it should be near the butt end of the stick,” he says, moving Theo’s hand into the right position. He absolutely is not overthinking about how close they are, how much the lacrosse gear is in the way.

“Thanks,” Theo smiles softly. Liam’s pretty sure he’s blushing and that’s yet another thing he’s not going to think too much about.

 

Afterwards Brett takes charge of practice shots on scoring, taking up the defensive position himself. He’s being tough on them, showing them exactly how much skill it takes to get around a good defenseman.

“Go Corey!” Theo calls as he steps up for his turn against Brett.

Corey looks over to them where they’re standing off at the side. He’s holding the stick correctly, just the way Mason showed him, feet apart and ready to take off.

“Alright, go,” Liam announces, and Corey breaks into a run.

It looks like Corey’s going to go right – Liam spots the move from a mile off. So does Brett, only when he goes to intercept Corey he feints left at the last second and dukes around Brett, running and throwing the ball into the net.

Mason, Theo and Hayden all cheer. Liam claps too, going over to where Brett and Corey are standing. Mason beats him there, pulling Corey into a kiss and dragging him away.

When he’s pretty sure they’re out of earshot, Liam turns to Brett. “Dude, you don’t have to go easy on him.”

Brett gives him a deadpan stare. “I wasn’t.”

“Oh. Well damn.”

Corey ‘supposedly never played lacrosse in his life’ Bryant just got around Brett ‘Devenford’s star player’ Talbot.

He knew Corey could move fast, has seen him weave around people in the school corridors. Seeing him actually run though? That was something else completely.

Liam watches Corey thoughtfully, beaming as Mason showers him in praise and kisses him. “Midfielder?” he says to Brett.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Brett chuckles. “Assuming he wants to join the team. Too bad he doesn’t go to Devenford.”

Liam shakes his head vehemently. “Oh no, nope, no way. You’re not stealing him.”

Brett’s got that mischievous glint in his eyes that Liam knows not to trust, but all he does is laugh. Even for Brett, getting someone to transfer schools just to join the lacrosse team is a bit of a stretch.

“You should ask him. To join the Cyclones. After all,” Brett’s face splits into a shit-eating grin. “You guys need all the help you can get.”

“Oh please,” Liam laughs, flipping him off as he jogs over to Corey and Mason. “Dude, Corey, that was awesome.”

“Thanks,” he blushes, apparently overwhelmed with so much praise.

“You don’t need to answer now, but would you consider trying out for the team? I think you’d be a great asset.”

“He’s already got the ‘great ass’ part down,” Mason mutters.

Liam shoots Mason a look and Corey blushes even harder.

“Does anyone have water?” Theo asks.

“Yeah,”Liam calls to him. “There should be a bottle in my bag, just go and get it.” 

“Thanks,” Theo calls back, walking over to where all their bags have been discarded.

“For real though,” Liam says, turning back to Corey. “Tryouts are already over but I could talk to Coach.  Just think about it?”

Corey looks a little tentative but he smiles at Liam. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

Liam’s not sure which of the three of them are most surprised.

“Liam?” Theo calls to him. His voice sounds off, like there’s something wrong. “Can you come here?”

Liam frowns and jogs over. His stomach is doing that unpleasant churning thing again. “Is everything okay?” 

“What are these?” Theo asks, voice wavering slightly. He reaches into Liam’s bag and pulls out the set of skateboard wheels Liam bought at the mall.

“Oh.” Liam had kind of forgotten about them in all the recent excitement. Theo’s focus is entirely on him. It’s like he’s being exposed, his skin flushed from more than just the exercise. “I bought them. When we were at the mall.”

“...For who?”

“You.”

Theo’s just staring at him, unblinking. Normally Liam would be squirming at this point but he can’t look away.

“Why?” Theo asks, voice barely above a whisper.

“You uh. You looked like you really wanted them and I just,” Liam finally averts his eyes. He can’t look at Theo when he says this. “I wanted to make you happy,” he admits.

Suddenly he’s being pulled into a bone crushing hug, Theo’s warm, mildly sweaty arms wrapping around his back.

“Thank you,” Theo breathes against his neck, sending a ripple of goosebumps shooting all over Liam’s body.

Liam finally gets control of his arms back from where they’ve been uselessly hanging at his sides, instead wrapping them around Theo. They sway on the spot, and sway, and sway, until Theo finally pulls back.

“I’ll change the wheels when I get home tonight,” Theo grins, face lit up in joy. That right there is the exact reason Liam bought the wheels in the first place, to see that look on Theo’s face. His thoughts couldn’t even compare to the reality of it.

“I guess there’s no getting out of teaching me how to skateboard now, huh?” Liam says.

Theo keeps grinning at him. “Definitely not.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The longest chapter yet with the shortest time between updates? Yeah, idk either.

The long day is catching up to Liam. Between regular lacrosse practice and giving the others a taster session afterwards, he's beat.

He yawns loudly and Jenna looks at him from where she’s sitting on the other side of the sofa.

“Tired?” she smiles, pausing the movie they’re watching. It’s the latest child-friendly flavour of the month.

“No!” Aria says immediately from where she’s nestled herself between the two of them. It’s past her bedtime and they all know it. Jenna hasn’t put her to bed yet though, so she’s been testing how long she can stay up for unnoticed.

Liam and Jenna both start laughing. Aria joins in too, even though she doesn’t really know  _why_ they’re laughing. Kids are like that though, just happy to be happy.

“She meant me, silly,” Liam smiles fondly.

“I’m still not tired!” she announces, crossing her arms. And, well. That’s that, apparently.

Jenna resumes the movie and they keep watching. After a while she gets a text from David; he’s going to be up at the hospital for another few hours. He’s been overworked lately too, taking double shifts because another doctor is off currently. He doesn’t complain but Liam can see how tired he is; it really is true that medical staff care for their patients better than themselves.

“Mom,” Liam says quietly, getting Jenna’s attention. He looks down and Jenna follows his gaze to Aria, eyes closed and sound asleep.

Jenna laughs softly, trying not to wake her now that she’s finally conked out. “I knew she wouldn’t last long.” She lifts Aria up without disturbing her sleep. “I’ll put her to bed.”

“Want me to pause it?”

Jenna shakes her head. “I’d rather you put something else on. I’ve already seen this one twice.” She rolls her eyes and hoists Aria up further. “Back soon.”

Liam stops the movie – he’s sure he’ll get the pleasure of watching it again in the near future – and tries to find something a bit more high-action that they’ll both enjoy.

Jenna reappears just as Liam finds something that might be worth watching. The movie opens with a flash of light and overly loud music, the first scene landing directly in the middle of a shootout.

“Much better,” Jenna says, eyes gleaming almost as bright as the TV.

Liam’s phone buzzes with a text during what will presumably be the first of many car chases. It’s from Theo and the message preview is… a little weird, to say the least.

 

 **Theo:** LOOK AT THIS FISH!!!! :D :D :D

 

Liam doesn’t know quite what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this. It’s so weird, so unexpected, so  _Theo_ , that he can’t help but laugh.

“Something funny?” Jenna asks, the amused tilt to her lips entirely too discerning.  

Liam passes his phone over. “Look what Theo just sent me.”

“Aww,” Jenna coos, looking at it for a few seconds before flicking her gaze to Liam, that discerning smile on her face again. 

Liam thinks she’s going to give him his phone back, but no. Instead she _taps something_. The urge to grab his phone out of her hand is almost overwhelming. Jenna’s up to date enough with technology that she could easily scroll through Liam’s phone and look at whatever she wanted. Liam’s not sure what exactly he has to hide, he just knows he doesn’t want his mom raking through his phone.

“Is that him?” Jenna asks. She’s enlarged Theo’s icon, a selfie of him sticking his tongue out and wearing the hoodie of Liam’s which he liberated in the library. It’s kind of his favourite picture of Theo. “He’s cute.”

“Yeah,” Liam mumbles, answering both of Jenna’s points in a single word. His face feels hot and he is absolutely not going to look at her, instead keeping his gaze trained on the TV. Liam knows exactly what she’s thinking; that he’s a little gone on Theo. How could he not be, when Theo does stuff like send him pictures of a fish with a pacifier in its mouth?

“Alright, I get it,” Jenna chuckles, handing Liam’s phone back. “Less boy talk, more explosions.”

Liam’s happy not to argue with that.

 

***

 

Mason’s ditched Liam in the lunch line again.

He’s not annoyed, not really, provided it doesn’t start happening regularly. It’s their thing, their few minutes alone during the day to catch up on their mornings before they go and join the others out on the bleachers. Still, Liam can cope with it if it keeps the smile on Mason’s face.

He shuffles forward a few steps, getting slowly closer to the food when someone lightly bumps him in the side.

“Hey,” Theo smiles.

“Hey yourself,” Liam says, his own smile matching Theo’s and his stomach knotting from more than just hunger. “You replacing Mason as my queue buddy?”

“I could,” Theo shrugs. “He’s been a little busy with Corey’s face recently.” 

“Just a little bit,” Liam chuckles. The kid behind them huffs when he realises Theo’s staying in the queue, but Liam side-eyes him and he doesn’t make another noise. “So what’s up?”

“Not much,” Theo says, fiddling with the string of his hoodie. “I kinda want some peace and quiet today. I was thinking about going to the library. You uh, wanna come too?”

Liam considers him. “Doesn’t me being there kinda defeat the purpose?”

“You don’t count,” Theo shrugs again.

Pride swells in Liam’s chest, warm and affirming and tinged with something else Liam’s finding harder and harder to ignore. If Theo wants company then he could easily have asked Corey or Hayden to join him, or even Mason. Yet instead he singled Liam out, going as far as searching for him in the cafeteria.

Liam gets his food and they head over to the library, settling themselves down at one of the tables around the back, away from the main seating area. Theo didn’t get anything in the cafeteria, instead taking out of his bag the sandwich which Corey dutifully gives him everyday.

“I put the new wheels on my skateboard,” Theo says around a mouthful of sandwich.

“Awesome! Have you tried them out yet?”

Theo shakes his head. “Not yet. Hopefully soon though. Thanks again for getting them for me.”

“No problem, it’s no big deal,” Liam says, trying to be nonchalant despite Theo’s face telling him it very much _is_  a big deal. “How did you enjoy trying out lacrosse?”

“You mean after you showed me how to hold the stick properly?” he laughs, trying not to be too loud due to their surroundings. “I don’t really know if it’s for me. It was cool how much Corey got into it though.”

“Yeah, it was awesome when he feinted around Brett.” He really hopes Corey at least considers trying out for the team. He still needs to speak to Coach, actually; he can do that at the next practice. Then again, maybe he should wait and see what Corey says first.

“Yeah, it was really good to see him like that,” Theo says, shifting his seat a little closer and then angling it so that he’s facing Liam a bit more. “Thanks for whatever you did to help him, by the way. Hayden and I know you had something to do with it.”

“It was, uh, no big deal,” Liam repeats, trying to block out the image of Corey closing the door, _Let me thank you_  rattling around in his head.

“We didn’t - don’t - really know how to help him,” Theo admits, a little softer, a little sadder. “We just kinda did… damage limitation, or whatever. Tried to stop him getting in too much trouble.”

Theo rests his hand on the table, next to Liam’s. He kind of thinks Theo’s going to take his hand again, and he’s kind of not opposed to it, likes the warmth and growing familiarity of Theo’s hand in his.

Instead, Theo snatches one of Liam’s fries and shoves it in his mouth, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

“Hey!” Liam huffs, moving his food a little further away from Theo, only mostly pretending to be annoyed. Theo lunges for his fries again, grabbing a small handful. Liam swats at his hand but ends up smacking the table instead due to Theo being so stealthily quick. Theo laughs loudly, eyes shining with mischief, and stuffs the stolen fries into his mouth.

“You’re an asshole,” Liam mutters, giving Theo’s shoulder a shove.

“They taste better when you have to work for them,” he shrugs, lips still quirked up. “Be right back.” Theo pushes his chair back and gets up, having the audacity to _wink_  at Liam before he disappears between the rows of books.

Liam messes around on his phone for a minute to distract himself from the fact that he kind of misses Theo, even though he literally only just left. It’s really starting to become a problem. He shoots Hayden a quick text to let her know he and Theo are still alive; he highly doubts Corey or Mason would actually check their phones if he texted either of them.

Before too long Theo reappears, holding a book. He sets it down on the table and entirely unsurprisingly, it’s some sort of animal encyclopedia.

“So this is where you get all your cool animal facts from, huh?”

“Sometimes, yeah. People barely touch the books in here unless they need them for classes. Or I find stuff online, on TV, whatever.” Theo glances at him as he flicks through the pages. “I’m still not sure if you actually like them or if you’re making fun of me.”

“What?” Liam places a hand on Theo’s arm and he stops flicking through the book, meeting Liam’s gaze instead. “You don’t really think that, do you? I seriously think it’s cool that you know so much about animals. I wish I knew half that much about anything.”

“Yeah?” Theo’s smile lights up his entire face.

“Yeah. Come on, tell me something cool about… whales, or something.”

Theo hums, flicking to the glossary at the back of the book. “Humpback whales have got this really cool method of hunting called bubble net feeding. It’s cool because it’s not just instinctual like most hunting methods are, they’ve actually got to learn how to do it, and not all of them can. And it’s a group thing too, even though they’re usually solitary animals, like it can be anywhere from just a few of them up to dozens of them at a time doing it.”

“Dozens? Wow. Aren’t they huge though?”

“So huge. It’s awesome,” Theo grins. “Let me see if it’s in here…”

Theo scans a finger through the pages as Liam watches him, smiling fondly at the other boy. He’s totally focused on what he’s looking for, flicking back through the pages once he finds it and moving the book a bit closer to Liam.

“Nice, there’s a picture, look.”

It’s clearly in the middle of the sea, spirals of lighter blue bubble rings contrasting against the ocean. Liam’s pretty sure he can just make out the heads of some whales in the middle of it.

“Wow, that’s cool,” Liam says.

“Right? So the whales lock onto a school of fish and herd them tighter and tighter together, all while making these walls of bubbles to block them in and disorient the fish. And then the whales eat them.”

“Nice,” Liam snorts.

“Shut up, it’s totally cool.”

“Yeah, yeah it is.”

 

***

 

Liam’s just kicked off his shoes, glad another long week of school is finally over, when his phone starts ringing in his pocket.

“Hey Mase, what’s up?”

“Corey’s agreed to come to Sinema with me later!” He sounds ridiculously excited. Liam hears the screech of coat hangers against the railing; Mason’s rummaging through his wardrobe. “Hey, do you have the denim shirt or do I have it?”

“You’ve still got it, you wore it on your date.”

“I totally did, didn’t I? Damn.” More screeching of coat hangers. “Can I wear it again? I look good in that shirt. Do you think he’ll care if I’m an outfit repeater?”

“Mason,” Liam sighs, sitting in his desk chair and spinning around in it.

“Okay, okay, I’ll wear it again. If I can actually _find_  it,” Mason mutters. “Oh right, back to my original point. You wanna come too?” 

Liam grimaces, thankful Mason can’t actually see his face right now. He’s not sure if he wants to go or not - last time wasn’t overly fun and he knows he won’t be hooking up with anyone, so what’s the point? The inevitability of Garrett and Violet also being there makes his stomach churn. It’s still hard enough being on the same lacrosse team, in the same Biology class, in the same school, as the other boy. Quite frankly Liam doesn’t want to risk seeing him any more than necessary.

All in all, Sinema doesn’t really sound like his idea of a good time right now.

But he also doesn’t like saying no to Mason.

“Fine, I’ll come along for a bit.”

Mason whoops on the other end of the line. “You should try and convince Theo to come too. He’s more likely to say yes to you than any of us. Oh hey, found the shirt! It was-”

“See you later Mase.” Liam hangs up, purposefully ignoring Mason’s previous point and the implication behind it. Stupidly, he thinks about how much more fun it would be if Theo was there. That’s a rabbit hole in and of itself; drinking with Theo, laughing with Theo, dancing with Theo…

The more he thinks about it, the more he wants it to happen. Theo would probably say no if Liam asked. It doesn’t mean he can’t try though.

Liam’s phone starts ringing again and he rolls his eyes, expecting it to be Mason chewing him out for hanging up on him. It takes him a few seconds to process that it’s actually Theo’s name on the caller ID.

“Theo?” Liam asks, wary. Theo’s only called him once before and although he still doesn’t know exactly what it was about, he knows it wasn’t anything good.

“Dude, I landed a varial kickflip!”

Liam has absolutely no idea what that is but Theo sounds really excited about it. He’s just relieved it’s nothing bad, more than anything. “Awesome! Are you at the skatepark right now?”

“Yeah,” Theo confirms.

“Cool, I’ll come down.”

After ending the call, Liam pulls his shoes back on despite feeling like he only just took them off. Liam tracks down Aria’s babysitter to the garden, where she’s playing a game with her. Liam tells them both that he’s going out and although he really hopes she won’t need it, the babysitter has his number.

 

When Liam arrives at the skatepark, there are some other kids there but Theo’s conspicuously alone. “Where are Corey and Hayden? And how come you didn’t tell me you were alone?”

Theo hugs him and Liam happily returns the embrace. “Corey’s going home then he's hanging out with Mason, and Hayden’s working tonight. And I didn’t really want to bother you.”

“Dude! I would’ve come if you’d asked.”

“Really?” Theo asks.

“Yeah, really.” Liam gives him a light shove. “You’re never bothering me, asshole.”

Theo bites his lip and flicks his eyes to the floor, and Liam finds it kind of stupidly endearing.

“So what’s this, uhh, various… vanity…”

“Varial kickflip?”

“That, yeah.”

Theo lights up again, the same way he always does when he’s explaining something. “Here, lemme show you.” He gets on his skateboard and picks up a little bit of speed, then he jumps. The movement is quick but it kind of looks like Theo kicks the board to make it flip. Liam thinks he’s going to land it, only the board goes out from under Theo and it ends up at his feet, giving Liam a real sense of deja vu.

“So it looks like that, except you actually land it,” Theo says sheepishly. Liam’s already grabbed the skateboard and he goes over to Theo, giving him a hand up. “It’s not really that difficult compared to other tricks. I’m still learning though, so,” Theo shrugs, dusting himself off and taking his skateboard back from Liam.

“Hey, don’t downplay your achievements like that. So what if other people can do harder tricks? You’re not them, you’re you.”

Theo ducks his head and smiles, looking up at Liam from beneath his eyelashes. It’s kind of breathtaking and Liam needs him to stop doing it immediately.

“So everyone is going to Sinema tonight,” Liam says, averting his eyes. “It would be really cool if you came along too.”

Theo’s fiddling with the hem of his shirt when Liam looks back at him. “I’ve never actually been to Sinema before,” Theo admits. “Hayden’s always wanted me to go since she started working there but I’ve never gone along.”

“It can be fun,” Liam says, which feels ever so slightly hypocritical but still. “There’s music, you can dance, they project old films onto the walls.”

Theo still seems a little sceptical but not exactly reluctant. “What’s the phone reception like there?”

“Normally pretty good.”

Theo’s quiet for a while and the anticipation is kind of killing Liam.

“I’m gonna call my mom. I need to tell her I’m gonna be out a bit late.”

“Yes!” Liam exclaims, holding a hand up for a high five. Theo grins as he smacks his hand, going to a quieter area to make his call. He’s still smiling when he comes back over. “Alright, let’s go.”

 

Theo drives them to Sinema, finding a parking space close to Mason’s car. The windows are fogged up and Liam and Theo roll their eyes at each other. Liam chaps the window and there’s some cursing and fumbling from inside before the window finally rolls down.

“Oh, it’s just you Liam, thank god,” Mason breathes a sigh of relief. “Theo, hey! You came!” Mason and Corey get out of the car, both of them looking slightly dishevelled, and there are hugs all around.

“You two are ridiculous,” Theo says, because somebody has to.

Corey has the decency to look at least a little embarrassed, whereas Mason is entirely shameless.

“I’ll text Hayden, let her know we’re all here,” Mason says. Liam looks over his shoulder and sees the exchange.

 

 **Mason:** hey we’re outside pls let us in xoxo

 **Hayden:** Orrr you could pay like everyone else ;)

 **Mason:** orrr you could let us in ;)

 

Hayden responds with a series of unflattering emojis, however soon after the back door swings open and there she is.

“Theo!” she exclaims, wrapping her arms around his neck and twirling him round in a hug, letting out an excited squeal. “You finally came!”

“Knew you could do it,” Mason whispers in Liam’s ear.

Hayden finally releases Theo and they all follow her inside, the door swinging shut behind them and the music getting gradually louder as they head into the main area of the club.

“Wow,” Theo says, looking around to try and take everything in. “The films on the walls actually look pretty cool.”

“I’ve been trying to tell you that for ages!” Hayden says in mock indignation. Mason gives Liam another knowing look but otherwise doesn’t comment. “Find a table or something, I’ll bring you over some drinks.”

“I’ve got them,” Liam says, pulling out his wallet. “Keep the change,” he lowers his voice so that only Hayden will hear; he’s still paying her back for the spilled drinks from before, bit by bit. Hayden smiles and weaves her way back to the bar, while Liam follows the others to a table. On the way over he spots that ever-familiar head of blond hair and he groans internally. He knew it would be too much to ask for Garrett not to be here but it didn’t stop him from hoping.

Theo’s still looking around when Hayden comes back with their drinks, taking it all in. It kind of helps Liam see Sinema in a new light, or at least a slightly better one, looking at it with the eyes of someone who’s never been before. Liam’s not exactly sure how often Corey’s been here before, he certainly doesn’t remember seeing him before now. Something’s not right though, the way he’s staring resolutely at his glass and not joining in the conversation.

They’ve all picked up on it, and when he doesn’t seem to change in any way Mason finally speaks up when their glasses are all nearly empty but Corey’s is still full.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing,” Corey says. His eyes are wide, panicked as he glances at Mason.

“There’s something. Tell me? Please?”

“It’s too busy,” Corey admits. “I don’t like it.”

“Okay, let’s go then.” Mason stands up, smiling softly as he holds out his hand for Corey to take. “Anywhere you want.”

“I don’t want to ruin your night. You stay here, I can go.”

“You’re not ruining anything. If I’m with you then I don’t care where we are. We’re either staying here together or going together,” Mason says firmly, hand still outstretched. “It’s entirely your choice.”

Corey takes Mason’s hand and gets to his feet. Liam can’t help but notice the smile on Theo’s face. He knows Theo’s protective of Corey, and Mason’s proving to all of them that he’s the right guy for him; Liam hasn’t forgotten what Corey told him about his ex, about how he used to treat him.

“See you later, guys,” Mason says.

“Bye,” Liam and Theo say simultaneously.

Theo sighs as Mason leads Corey through the crowd towards the exit. “I hope he’s okay.”

“Mase’ll look after him,” Liam says, totally sure of that fact. “C’mon, we need to cheer up. Wanna dance?”

“I don’t really know how,” Theo says, eyeing the couples already out on the dancefloor. Very few of them are doing anything other than shamelessly grinding on each other. Brett’s in the middle of the dancefloor, a girl on one side of him and a boy on the other. He’s definitely living his best life.

“It’s not hard. It’s also not really dancing, to be honest. Come on.” Liam stands up and holds his hand out, a perfect mimic of what Mason did for Corey. Only with Theo there’s no hesitation; he takes Liam’s hand immediately and follows him out onto the dancefloor. “Here, hold onto me like this,” Liam says once they’ve got a place near the outside, placing his hands just above Theo’s hips. Theo copies the motion and Liam’s sides heat up where Theo’s holding him. “Like that, yeah,” Liam swallows, meeting Theo’s gaze. The other boy is looking at him with an intensity that makes it hard to focus. “Now just, uh, move to the music.”

Theo takes a step closer and starts swaying, their bodies nearly touching. He slides his hands down just slightly, his grip firm on Liam’s hips. “How’s this?” he asks, a confident curl to his lips. Liam doesn’t trust his voice so instead he nods, finding a smile. Theo returns it and suddenly it’s as if nobody else is on the dancefloor, it’s just the two of them.

Neither of them notices Garrett and Violet getting closer. Neither of them notice Garrett tripping, the contents of his drink ending up all over Liam’s shirt.

“Ugh, what the fuck,” Liam complains, detaching himself from Theo and swatting at his shirt. Then he sees who it is. “What the _fuck?_ ” he demands, shoving Garrett away from him.

“My bad,” Garrett shrugs, absolutely no sincerity behind it. Violet grimaces, looking genuinely apologetic; the way Garrett  _should_  be looking.

Theo’s between the two of them in an instant.

“You did that on purpose, what the fuck is your problem?” Theo snarls, fists gripped in Garrett’s shirt.

“Garrett come on, we should go,” Violet says. She tries to pull him away but Garrett shrugs her off.

“Oh look, Dunbar’s guard dog again. He let you fuck him yet?” Garrett asks, nodding towards Liam. He laughs and the sound comes out as cutting, cruel. “Of course he has. He always was pretty easy once you got--”

Garrett doesn’t get to finish the sentence. In one swift motion Theo releases his grip on Garrett’s shirt and punches him, blood exploding from his nose and spattering on the dancefloor below them.

Garrett cries out in pain and clutches his nose, taking a few steps back. Liam should intervene before anything else happens, before it can get worse, but he’s too surprised to move.

“You’ll pay for that, Raeken,” Garrett spits, pointing a bloodied finger at Theo.

A looming shadow appears and a hand grips Liam’s shoulder painfully; it’s the behemoth of a security guard they bypassed at the door. “All of you are leaving. Let’s go.”

There’s no arguing with that. Liam doesn’t think he could move this guy off the spot, even if he wanted to. Instead he takes Theo’s hand and guides him to the exit while the security guard escorts Garrett and Violet, a menacing presence at their backs.

Compared to the heat of the club, the contrast of the evening air is sharp, sobering. The reality of the situation finally kicks in. Theo just _punched_  Garrett for him.

Liam grips Theo’s hand tighter as he shivers involuntarily, the breeze cold against his damp shirt. They head straight to Theo’s truck where it’s parked down the street, not sparing a second glance behind them.

“Are you okay?” Theo asks, turning the ignition on so he can crank the heating up. Liam can tell Theo’s still mad, his words coming out more blunt that usual. His face is shuttered, eyes dark as he idly rubs his knuckles.

“I’m fine.” It’s a lie, but Theo doesn’t need to know that. Honestly, it hurts that he apparently means so little to Garrett. Liam can’t imagine ever talking like that about the other boy. He doesn’t miss Garrett, wouldn’t get back together with him in a million years. He just wishes he had a better understanding of what actually went wrong between them, what it is about him that stopped being enough. “Can I see?”

Theo pliantly holds out his hand for Liam, the one he punched Garrett with. “Nobody tells you punching people hurts.”

“Is that the first time you’ve done it?”

Theo nods, and the true weight of the situation hits Liam. Theo did that for _him _.__

His knuckles are already swelling and Theo hisses when Liam starts pressing them, trying to feel for any damage. It’s just from general tenderness though, not the pain of a broken bone; as well as the medical knowledge he’s accrued from David, he’s had enough run-ins with his own fists to know what signs to look for.

“I think you’re good. You should put something cold on them when you get home though.”

“Thanks,” Theo says, finally trying to crack a smile. “Doctor Dunbar to the rescue.”

“I learned from the best,” he shrugs. “Are _you_  okay?”

“I think so? Still kinda can’t believe I did that,” Theo laughs, sounding more like his usual self. “I’ve never been kicked out of anywhere before either, guess I can tick that one off the bucket list.”

“It’s not always as bad as that,” Liam sighs. Admittedly it has been, as of late. “I just… I don’t get why he keeps acting like that.”

Theo’s eyes darken again, this time in determination rather than anger. “Try not to think about him. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you’re worth so much more than that piece of shit.”

“Thanks, Theo.” Liam’s shirt is getting more and more uncomfortable, and the peels the wet fabric off his skin, holding it out slightly. Theo tracks the movement and leans around to the back seats of the truck.

“I should have a spare shirt or hoodie or something back here, you want it?”

“If you don’t mind, yeah.”

“Of course I don’t mind. Here,” Theo says, producing a hoodie for Liam to change into.

“Thanks,” he smiles, pulling his shirt over his head and balling it up, drying himself off with a part that didn’t get wet. Theo’s breath hitches and Liam glances at him; his eyes are transfixed on Liam’s bare chest and stomach.

He doesn’t know what to do for a moment. It would be so simple to just lean over…

Then he remembers the sneer on Garrett’s face, the way he said Liam was easy. He drops his shirt and pulls Theo’s hoodie on, the zip snagging in his haste to pull it up. When he glances over again Theo’s not looking at him anymore, but his cheeks are a little red. It can’t be blamed on the artificial heat still being produced by the truck.

The atmosphere is suddenly awkward, leaving Liam unsure where to look. Liam clears his throat, wanting to make sure his voice comes out steady. “Do you want to do anything else? Since our night kinda got cut a bit short.”

Theo glances at the clock on the dashboard and frowns. “It’s getting kinda late, I should probably go home.”

“Oh, okay. Yeah,” Liam says, not quite masking his disappointment.

Theo’s frown deepens but he doesn’t look at Liam. “I’ll drive you home, if you want.”

“That’d be good, thanks.”

The drive doesn’t take long and in that time the weirdness between them thankfully dissipates. As Theo parks, he smiles at Liam and it’s like nothing happened.

“Tonight was good,” Theo says.

“Seriously?” Liam laughs. Parts of the night were even worse than the last time he was at Sinema. Sometimes he wonders why he even keeps going back to the place.

“Yeah, you made it fun. And Hayden was really happy to see me there. Besides, I… I want to try and get out a bit more.” Ordinarily the words wouldn’t be a big deal but Liam can hear the certainty behind them, see the decisive set of Theo’s jaw.

“Yeah?” Liam says, excitement building up in him.

“Yeah. I’m gonna try and go back to the skatepark at some point over the weekend. If you’re free then I could give you that lesson?”

“Sounds good, it’s a deal.” Liam leans over and hugs Theo, holding onto him tightly. Theo returns the hug with the same intensity. “Thank you,” he breathes into Theo’s shoulder. They both know it’s for so much more than the promised skateboard lesson.

When Liam finally pulls away there’s a dazzling smile on Theo’s face. “Night, Li.”

“Night, Theo.”

As he watches Theo drive away, Liam can’t deny that his feelings for Theo keep getting stronger and stronger. He just needs to decide what to do about them.


	11. Chapter 11

So much happened last night that it feels like some kind of weird fever dream. Between hanging out with Theo briefly, convincing him to come to Sinema, the whole situation with Garrett, and then whatever the hell nearly happened afterwards, it almost seems impossible that so much could happen in such a short space of time.

Liam checks his phone. There’s a couple of notifications on it but there’s nothing from the person he really wants to hear from. He assumes Theo must be busy today; he said he would text if he was going to the skatepark. Liam takes the initiative instead, firing off a quick text to Theo.

 

 **Liam:**  How’s the hand?

 

Hopefully he replies. Hopefully he’s fine.

He needs to check on how Corey’s doing too, actually. Mason seemed to be handling it well though, suggesting that the two of them leave Sinema early. Hopefully it will also prove to Corey that he can trust Mason - Liam hasn’t forgotten what Corey said about his ex not realising he was uncomfortable.

Mason has always coped when Liam has struggled with his own mental health, both when they were younger and now when he has the occasional episode. Back when Liam first became unwell, just the simple act of Mason staying by his side and treating him normally when other kids were scared of his temper was more than a lot of people did. That was before he had learned any proper coping mechanisms though, before he had a good balance of medication; finding the right dosage took a bit of trial and error but what he’s on now seems to be working.

If Corey has a mental health condition, whether it be an anxiety disorder or something else, then there is no doubt in Liam’s mind that Mason will take measures to support him. Likewise he knows that Corey is a really nice guy and while Mason is usually pretty calm and collected, he’s sure Corey will be there for him if and when he needs support. After last night Liam is sure they’ll be good for each other.

 

Liam’s stomach growls, reminding him of its insatiable need for food. He finally gets out of bed and pads downstairs, sending a text to Mason while he’s at it.

 

 ** **Liam:**** You busy today?

 

 **Mason:**  Corey stayed over last night, he’s still here. All fine now

Anything interesting happen after we left? ;))

 

Liam smiles and shakes his head, although he strangely feels like he’s intruding by texting Mason right now. Which is absolutely ridiculous and he knows it, he’s just being insecure because he had gotten used to not having to share Mason anymore. The same happened when Mason was dating Sean, and it happened when he started dating Garrett, there was an adjustment period trying to work out how to split their time.

 

 **Liam:**  Yeah actually, not what you’re thinking though. Chat later?

 

Mason sends back a thumbs up emoji, and that settles that.

 

***

 

There’s an itch beneath Liam’s skin, one that appears to be insatiable. He’s had breakfast, chatted to his family and caught up with everything online, and it’s still only mid morning. And, more importantly, he’s bored.

He’s not the type of person who always needs to be around people, he’s perfectly fine in his own company. He always used to spend Saturdays with Garrett though. He clearly doesn’t have - doesn’t  _want_  - Garrett anymore, Theo hasn’t replied to his text yet so he’s probably busy, Mason is with Corey, and quite frankly he’s not sure what Hayden’s doing but he’s not sure if their budding friendship has reached the one on one hangouts stage yet.

He can totally occupy himself for a day. He can.

Liam huffs and wanders back upstairs, looking at his schoolbag for half a second before deciding homework is the last thing he wants to do. His eyes wander over his guitar, propped up against the wall. He hasn’t played it for a while, a little bit of practice couldn’t hurt. Sitting cross legged on the floor, Liam settles his guitar in his lap and tries to do some scales.  _Tries_  being the operative word; he keeps messing up his finger placement. He breathes deeply through his nose a few times, trying not to let himself get too riled up. He just needs to start with a simpler scale and work his way up to the one he’s messing up on.

Liam exhales and tries again, closing his eyes and letting his fingers travel up and down the strings, muscle memory guiding them to where they need to go. He does the scale a few more times, satisfied that he has it covered, then retries the more difficult one. Again, he mistimes it and the strings make an unpleasant sound. Liam scowls and stands up, leaving the guitar in the middle of the floor.

He glances around the room, trying and failing to find anything that appeals to him. He picks up a book anyway, only to end up reading the same paragraph four times because it won’t stick.

He goes back downstairs and wanders into the living room where David’s sitting with the TV on. Liam takes the remote off the armrest, stands next to David’s seat and changes the channel. Then he does it again a few seconds later, and then again.

“Did you consider that I might be watching that?” David asks, a bemused smile on his face.

“Oh,” Liam blinks. He flicks the channel a few times but he doesn’t know what channel it was originally on, so he keeps changing it in the hope that David will recognise the show.

“Bad day?” David asks, gently prying the remote from Liam’s hand and changing the channel back himself.

“It’s not a  _bad_  bad day,” Liam says, sitting down across from David and tucking his feet underneath him. “Just a normal bad day. Not that it’s a bad day, it’s just…” Liam groans in frustration, standing up again. “It’s not IED,” he clarifies. “I just can’t concentrate.”

David mutes the TV, giving Liam his full attention. “Anything I can do to help?”

Liam shakes his head. “Don’t think so. Thanks though dad.”

“No problem, kiddo,” David says. “Why don’t you go see if your mom needs any help?”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

Liam tries the kitchen first but there’s no sign of Jenna. He’s about to go and look in the garden but then the bread bin catches his eye. A sandwich wouldn’t hurt. He opens the fridge and pulls some stuff out of the salad drawer, adding packed meat onto his pile and sticks it all in a sandwich. Jenna comes in the back door just as Liam’s taken his first bite.

“Hi honey,” Jenna says, pulling off her gardening gloves.

“Hi,” Liam says around a mouthful of food.

Jenna washes her hands and Liam follows her when she leaves the room, taking another bite of his sandwich. She goes upstairs into her bedroom, picking up some of Aria’s toys on her way and then putting them all in Aria’s room. Jenna eyes him but doesn’t say anything, so Liam takes another bite of his sandwich. They go downstairs and Jenna pokes her head into the living room, where Aria’s made her way onto David’s lap and is talking away excitedly to him, further distracting him from his show.

Jenna sighs when they make it back to the kitchen. “I’ve already got a shadow, Liam. I don’t need another one.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Liam huffs, purposefully standing even closer to her. “Everything’s boring.”

Jenna ambushes him with a hug because he’s so close, pressing her cheek against his. Liam’s still impatiently waiting for the day that he actually grows taller than her. “You could always do the dusting. Or the vacuuming. Or the ironing. Or mow the lawn.” Jenna can’t hold her stern expression for long, a smile creeping in at the edges. “Or you could go outside for a while, if nothing inside is doing it for you.”

“Outside sounds good,” he agrees. Grabbing an energy drink from the fridge, he goes into the utility room to grab his lacrosse bag. He’s nearly outside by the time he remembers his phone is still on his bed. He runs up and grabs it, checking the notifications on his way downstairs and finds a text back from Theo.

 

 **Theo:**  A bit swollen

It’s fine though

Busy today but I should hopefully get to the skatepark tomorrow?

 

A smile spreads across his face. Liam chews on his bottom lip as he grabs his lacrosse gear again. “Going to the lacrosse field!” he calls to whoever is listening.

 

 **Liam:**  Sounds good, let me know what time

 

 **Theo:**  Will do :D

 

Once Liam gets to the lacrosse field he throws a few balls into the net. The repetitiveness of it finally helps him focus, takes his mind off all the other nonsense swirling around in his head.

He sets his stick down and grabs a drink, wiping his free hand down on his shorts. His eyes keep getting drawn to the spot where he and Theo lay in the grass. Even now, when he’s barely been able to focus on anything all day so far, his mind is being permeated with thoughts of the other boy. He wants to do it again. Not for the same reason as last time, not because something or someone made Theo cry. No, he wants to do it just because. Like it or not, this crush he has on Theo looks like it’s here to stay.

The thing is, Garrett hurt him. A lot.

He doesn’t think Theo’s  _fake_ , exactly. He can tell that Theo is a genuine guy. There are definitely two sides to him though - the fun, bubbly side that he shows, and the more vulnerable side that he hides away. How much does Liam  _really_  know about him? How much can Liam really  _trust_  him?

He thought he knew Garrett, and look where that got him.

Liam groans in frustration and collects the balls that are scattered about, lining them up in front of the goal again. Everything always keeps coming back to Garrett. He’s the ball and chain around Liam’s ankle, constantly getting dragged along behind him and slowing him down even when he tries to ignore that it’s there. He just needs to break the link and be free.

He switches the lacrosse stick to his left hand, something he only does when he’s practicing alone. His dominant hand is his right so some might say what he’s doing is a waste of time. Liam wants his lacrosse abilities to be as well rounded as possible though. Who knows when he might need to use his left hand?

He fires the balls at the goal one by one, every single one of them going wide of where he aimed and two of them missing the goal completely. His frustration ramps up a notch, increasing his determination along with it. He’s done much worse, truth be told. On his next attempt his shots still go wide, however he only misses one rather than two.

He collects the balls and does it again and again until he gets them all in the goal every time.

 

Feeling significantly more grounded, Liam collects his stuff from where he left it on the bleachers once he’s ready to leave. He checks his phone to find another text from Mason.

 

 **Mason:**  Corey’s gone home, you wanna hang out now?

****

**Liam:**  Sure, I’ll come over. Been practicing though, might smell a bit

****

**Mason:** Nothing new there then ;)

 

 **Liam:**  Rude

 

Liam lets himself in when he arrives, the same rules - or lack of - applying to Mason’s house as his own house. He leaves his lacrosse bag at the door then goes to the kitchen, getting a drink for them both from the fridge. He hears footsteps in the hallway and then Mason’s dad appears.

“Oh, Liam,” he blinks. “Hi there.”

“Hey Mike, just getting Mason and I something to drink. How’s the new book going?” Liam asks.

“How’s the new book going?” he laughs hysterically, eyes manic. “How’s the new book going…” With that he does an about turn and leaves the kitchen without getting whatever he came into the room for in the first place.

It’s always a hit or a miss how Mike’s going to react when he gets asked about his latest novel, and apparently Liam has caught him at exactly the wrong time; the stage of the drafting process where he wants to delete the entire thing, move to a remote cabin somewhere in Canada and remove himself from all social contact. It’s an annual occurrence, sometimes biannual when he’s on a roll. He always gets past it and is ultimately happy with whatever he produces, but still.

Liam still doesn’t understand why anyone would want to be a writer when it seems to be so stressful. Mason’s dad has won numerous awards for his works and if this is what the writing process is like for him, Liam can only imagine how other writers must find it.

It’s pretty cool that he’s seen sneak previews of award winning work before it got published though.

Liam goes upstairs, bypassing Mason’s bedroom entirely and continuing up the next set of stairs to the attic. Nine times out of ten, Mason is there rather than in his bedroom. It’s essentially similar to the den in Corey’s house except much less clinical.

“Hey Li,” Mason says from where he’s sitting on the couch. He doesn’t turn around as he’s in the middle of playing a video game on the TV.

“Hey hey,” he says as he joins Mason on the couch, sitting cross legged and placing one of the cans in Mason’s lap.

“Thanks,” Mason glances over and smiles quickly before returning his gaze to the TV. That’s when Liam notices the fresh mark on Mason’s neck. He knows Mason knows that he’s seen it, if the way he’s squirming in his seat is anything to go by. Liam doesn’t comment but considering Mason was always covered in them when he was dating Sean too, he guesses that pretty much confirms who’s into hickeys.

There’s a packet of flavoured popcorn split open on the couch too so Liam helps himself, grimacing as his fingers immediately become sticky. When Mason finally finishes his solo quest in the game, Liam has eaten most of the packet. Mason narrows his eyes when he goes to take a handful and switches the game to multiplayer. Liam grabs the second controller, recounting what happened at Sinema the previous night while they play. He leaves out the stuff in Theo’s truck afterwards because he’s still not totally sure himself what went on there.

Mason gives a low whistle. “ _Intense._ Remind me to give Theo a fist bump or something the next time I see him.”

“Will do,” Liam laughs. “So how about you guys? How’s Corey?”

“Oh yeah, he’s fine,” Mason nods. “He said he doesn’t like crowded places, which I get. Sinema can be a bit much sometimes if you’re not used to it. I just won’t go there if we’re hanging out together.”

“Glad to hear it.” It’s a relief to hear Corey is okay. Liam will probably try and get him alone at some point during school, just to double check anyway. Especially since he doesn’t know how much Corey has told Mason about his anxious feelings.

“So, speaking of Sinema,” Mason says. “Remember that night when… y’know. The Snapchat Incident happened?”

“I might remember it, yeah,” Liam deadpans. “And really, you’re calling it  _The Snapchat Incident?_ You can just say what it was.”

Mason grimaces. “Okay, yeah, poor choice of words. So remember how I thought I saw Corey there? Well I  _did._ ”

“You did?”

“Yeah, he told me last night. He went to try and talk  _to me_ , because you apparently mentioned at the skatepark I was going to be there. How cute is that?” Mason smiles dreamily, the picture of teenage infatuation.

“Okay yeah, that’s pretty cute,” Liam agrees.

“He said he kind of panicked and left, so we didn’t get to talk. Can you believe he’s liked me as long as that too?”

“If only someone had suggested you should talk to him,” Liam teases, recalling the numerous times he did so. No doubt Mason is thinking of them too.

“Okay, you were right, I get it,” Mason sighs. “You told me so.”

They complete their quest, fist bumping when the victory screen comes up.

“We need more quality best friend time, dude,” Mason says while the game is idle. “I’ve kind of been neglecting my best friend duties.” 

“Yeah, you have,” Liam grins, earning him a punch on the arm from Mason. “I get it though, it’s all good.” Mason needs to spend time with Corey, new relationship and all that. The exact same thing happened when he first got together with Sean, and also when Liam got together with Garrett. It’s just a case of finding the right balance, of fitting a new relationship into an otherwise set routine. All it’s going to take is time.

 

***

 

Liam is hovering around Jenna again. For good reason this time though; she’s going back to work this afternoon, so he won’t see her again until the middle of the week. She always keeps a travel bag more or less ready to go, so packing isn’t an issue. Instead Liam is helping her change the bedsheets because it’s highly unlikely David will do it unprompted. They’re just buttoning up the duvet when Liam’s phone buzzes in his pocket.

 

 **Theo:**  Skatepark after lunch!!! :D

 

“Mom, it’s fine for me to go out this afternoon right?” Liam asks.

“Lydia’s taking Aria for the afternoon, you’ve got the house to yourself. You know this, Liam,” Jenna sighs. “Where do you want to go?”

“Theo was gonna teach me how to skateboard, he says he’ll be there this afternoon if I can go?”

“Theo, huh?” Jenna teases, immediately sending a blush across Liam’s cheeks. “Yes, it’s fine for you to go. Just don’t be too late, okay? You’ve got school tomorrow and I know you haven’t finished your homework.”

“Awesome, I won’t. Thanks mom,” Liam smiles, choosing to ignore the homework quip.

 

 **Liam:**  See you there!!

 

***

 

After they have lunch and Lydia picks up Aria, Liam finishes helping Jenna with the housework before hugging her goodbye. He walks to the skatepark, giddy excitement at the thought of seeing Theo again so soon putting a smile on his face.

Liam spots him immediately when he arrives, picking him out in the crowd of other kids on skateboards and BMX bikes. He watches Theo from the gate for a minute, seeing as he skates down into the bowl without hesitation and reappears on the other side, going back into it and then jumping out at his starting point. That’s what Liam wants to be able to do by the end of the day, he decides. It’s probably entirely unrealistic considering he’s never even been on a skateboard before. He’s a bit of a chronic overachiever though, he always wants to be the best at everything.

Theo finally spots him, face lighting up as he skates over and dismounts in a smooth motion, clasping the board in one hand.

“Hey,” he grins.

“Hey Theo,” Liam replies, bowing to him. “I’m ready to learn. Master, please teach me your ways.”

“Oh my god, stop it,” Theo laughs. Liam stands up properly again, chuckling too. “I told you, I’m not that good.”

“You look pretty good to me,” Liam shrugs, biting his lip when he realises how he worded that. He doesn’t try to backtrack or amend it or anything though, and he’s pretty sure Theo is blushing. “Hey, let me see your hand,” he says, taking it before Theo can refuse. It’s a little bit bruised like he expected, but otherwise it doesn’t look bad at all. Liam has had much worse. “Looks good. Okay, not  _good_ ,” Liam amends when Theo raises an eyebrow at him. “But it doesn’t look awful. Is it painful?”

“It aches every now and again but it’s pretty much fine,” Theo says, wiggling his fingers to prove he has full mobility in them.

“Thanks again for sticking up for me. Do you think it makes me a bad person if I kinda hope Garrett’s face is bruised?”

“If it makes you a bad person then it makes me a bad person too,” Theo says flippantly. He clearly hasn’t lost any sleep over the incident. “Now, first thing’s first. Safety gear!”

Liam groans when Theo hands him pads and a helmet. “Do I have to? None of them are wearing any,” he motions around them to the other kids.

“Yes, you do, because you’re a beginner and they’re idiots. What if you hit your head when you fall? Or totally scrape up your knees and your elbows?”

“What do you mean  _when_  I fall?” Liam says.

Theo gives him a look. “Trust me, you’re gonna fall. A lot. Like, as often as the penguins in that documentary I told you about.”

“Okay, much falling, I get it,” Liam sighs, pulling on the knee pads first, then the elbow pads and finally the helmet. “These guys are totally gonna laugh at me, aren’t they?”

“I don’t think so, no. Not at a total beginner anyway. They didn’t laugh at me until I was like, semi competent at staying on the board,” Theo shrugs.

Liam looks at the skateboard warily, his previous bravado out the window. It might look innocent enough, but Liam's seen Theo fall off of it enough times now to know better.

"It won't bite you," Theo snickers.

"Asshole," Liam mutters, having a quick self-conscious glance at the other kids before getting on the board. He stands on it the way he’s seen Theo doing it, his left foot near the middle and his right foot at the back. It starts moving about immediately, wobbling backwards and forwards. Liam throws his arms out, trying to find his centre of balance so that he doesn’t fall during step one.

“You good?” Theo asks.

“I think so.” He lowers his arms and the board stays in place. “What now?”

“Now you try to move.”

They’re off to the side anyway but the other people in the skatepark are steering clear by some unspoken agreement, giving them plenty of room.

“It stays a lot steadier if you push off hard to start with,” Theo tells him. Liam pushes off and right enough, the board is relatively steady. Theo jogs alongside him, keeping pace. “Stand up straight. Yeah, there.”

And just like that, they’ve reached the end of the concrete strip.

“Awesome, you did it!” Theo cheers, Liam preening at the praise. “Do you wanna go back down again, maybe try turning?”

“Sure,” he says, pushing off with his back foot and building up some momentum.

"Yeah, just like that. See if you can turn it, press forwards or backwards with your ankles."

Liam tries to turn left but he hits a slight bump unexpectedly, causing the board to shake. It’s the kind of immediate panic Liam imagines losing control of a car feels like. He flings his arms out and jumps off before he can fall, thankfully landing on his feet.

"Do you want me to hold your hands?" Theo asks, and Liam's about to call him an asshole again until he realises Theo's being serious.

"Sure." Liam gets back on and takes Theo's hands, warm and familiar in his own. Between him pushing off and Theo pulling him along, he ends up going a bit faster than he was by himself.

“Okay, and turn.” Theo pulls him left abruptly and Liam jumps off the board, barrelling into Theo’s chest while the board comes to a stop a short distance away. Theo laughs, loud and carefree, his face lit up with a weightless abandon. Liam’s own body shakes with the vibrations. It's so profound that Liam kind of wishes Theo could look like that, feel like that, forever.

 

They keep practicing, well into the afternoon until the other kids have all cleared out.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s already so late,” Theo says, looking at the empty skatepark around them.

“Do you have to go?” Liam asks reluctantly. He’s having a lot of fun, he doesn’t want it to be over. “I can pretty much stay all evening.”

“I’ll check, just gonna call my mom.” Theo walks out of earshot, keeping his back turned to Liam. He’s smiling when he comes back. “I can stay!”

“Awesome,” Liam says. Theo’s happiness seeps into him too, just like it always does. “Can we take a break though?”

“Sure, no problem.”

They sit next to each other at the edge of the bowl with their legs dangling down into it. Liam swings his legs back and forth while Theo stretches his arms out behind him, leaning on his palms. Liam is a little bit sore from all of his falls off the skateboard; Theo was right, it happens a lot. It’s still the good kind of sore though, like the type he feels after a lacrosse game. He can tell he’s going to be covered in scrapes and bruises tomorrow. Thankfully there hasn’t been too much bloodshed on his end.

“Oh, I saw a video you might like,” Liam says, pulling his phone out. “It was of someone’s pet bearded dragon getting excited over blueberries. Let me see if I can find it again… Ha! Look, look.”

“Its little  _feet_ , oh my god,” Theo gushes as it runs towards the next blueberry, its feet going  _patpatpatpatpat_  on the wooden floor every time. Theo replays the video a second and a third time, giggling at the bearded dragon’s feet skittering. Liam watches Theo instead of the video, marvelling at how genuinely excited he gets about animals. Theo replays it another time before finally handing Liam his phone back. “That’s so cute.”

“Awesome, I’m glad you liked it,” Liam smiles as Theo’s giggles finally trail off.

“Did you know they can regrow their teeth if they lose them? The wild ones hunt for food, so it would kinda suck if they lost their teeth and couldn’t hunt anymore. They can’t regrow their tails like other lizards though, they only get one. If they lose it then they’ll just be left with like, a little stump forever.”

“Huh. How weird would it be if people could regrow their teeth? Like, the adult ones too, not just milk teeth. The tooth fairy would go bankrupt so fast.”

“Oh my god Liam,” Theo laughs, scrunching his nose and crinkling his eyes. “The tooth fairy, seriously? You really do have a kid sister.” Then he hums thoughtfully. “What if people could regrow limbs or something instead? That’d be really cool.”

“Well it would make my dad’s job way easier, anyway,” Liam says.

“He’s a surgeon, right?”

“At the hospital, yeah. He’s pretty awesome. I’m not squeamish around blood, I’ve seen enough of my own from lacrosse injuries and IED and stuff. I could never do what he does though.” Liam glances down at his knuckles, scarred from how many times he’s split them open. David has tended to them countless times over the years. “And he’s just always so calm, too. Looking back now at when I first got diagnosed with IED, I can see that my mom was freaking out almost as badly as me. Dad stayed totally calm the entire time though, he really helped us both through it.”

“Yeah, he sounds great,” Theo agrees. He sucks his lip between his teeth, pondering for a moment. “I don’t have one. Never have.” He shrugs dismissively, too unaffected for it to be totally genuine.

“Who needs a dad when you’ve got animal videos?” Liam says, coaxing a slight huff of laughter from Theo as he unlocks his phone again. He takes a look at the related videos, selecting one he’s seen before of a baby elephant chasing birds around. “Here, look,” he says, passing his phone to Theo. Liam watches Theo rather than the video again and just like before, he starts smiling immediately. It’s kind of great that Theo’s entire face just lights up like that every time he sees an animal.

 

***

 

"I'm literally going to die. How do you get any enjoyment out of this thing?"

Liam's poised on the edge of the bowl, skateboard underfoot, about to try and drop in for the first time. It suddenly looks a lot deeper, now that he’s got four wheels underneath him.

“You chase a ball and people try to attack you while you’re doing it,” Theo replies so quickly that he must have been anticipating the question. “For fun,” he adds.

“...That’s fair.”

“You know you don’t have to do this, right? You literally only started skateboarding today. It took weeks before I was brave enough to try it.”

“I’m doing it,” Liam huffs, his stubborn streak making an appearance again. He might have waited until the skatepark was empty before his first attempt, but he’s still doing it. His goal for the day was to be able to skate down into the bowl and that’s what he’s going to do.

“Okay,” Theo sighs, knowing he isn’t going to win.

Only Liam doesn’t do it. He hits a mental block, his instincts telling him that dropping from solid ground into an open space is Bad Bad Very Bad.

“...Liam?”

“I’m doing it.”

Theo claps his shoulder, pulling his attention from the bowl. "You'll be fine, yeah? Don’t overthink it, just go for--”

"So if I die,” Liam says, speaking over the top of Theo and earning a smile from him, “Coach will be really mad at me for missing practice. So mad that he'll come here, revive me, and kill me again."

"Honestly? That dude is scary, he probably would,” Theo frowns. “Even if Corey totally has a thing for him."

Liam snorts. That is literally never going to get old.

“Right, here goes nothing…” he mutters, steeling himself as he pushes off. Just like that, he's going down into the bowl.

He reaches the ground far too quickly, the skateboard flying out from under his feet as he crashes out. He groans and takes off his helmet as a twinge of pain shoots through his ankle, but it mostly fades after he rubs it for a few seconds. Then he rolls onto his back and looks up at the sky.

Theo’s head appears over the edge, his forehead creased in concern. "Are you okay?"

Liam considers him for a moment. "Nope, I'm dead. Your skateboard killed me."

Theo laughs and jumps down into the bowl. He holds out his hand and Liam takes hold of it, firm and warm in his own. However instead of pulling himself up, he yanks hard and pulls Theo down on top of him. They both let out an  _oof_  at the impact and Theo braces himself on his forearms so that his whole weight isn’t bearing down on Liam.

"Hey," Liam smirks.

"Hey yourself," Theo smirks back.

They stay like that, just smiling at each other, close enough to feel the warm puffs of each other’s breath. Back in the preserve, what feels like forever ago, Theo’s eyes had been a luscious forest green, complimented by the leaves and the trees surrounding them. They seem to be a different shade every time Liam looks close enough and today is no exception. Now they’re a piercing blue, much like his own yet infinitely better. Liam flicks his eyes down, landing on Theo's lips for just for a moment, and swallows. Theo catches it anyway, his breath stuttering as he tracks the movement of Liam’s throat, the same noise he made in his truck the other night when Liam had been getting changed. His eyes darken and he leans down slowly, maintaining eye contact the entire time, giving Liam plenty of time to move away, to voice some sort of disapproval.

He doesn’t.

The biggest  _fuck you_  he can give to Garrett right now is to do exactly what he wants, to let this moment play out rather than constantly second guessing himself for once. Liam refuses to let Garrett control his heart or his mind any longer. He’s unlocking the ball and chain, casting them away and allowing himself to be free.

Liam closes his eyes and lifts his head just enough for their mouths to meet, Theo’s lips surprisingly soft as they brush against his own.

Theo is tentative, almost unsure, as if he can’t really believe it’s happening; Liam is definitely a bit unsure himself. As he’s been learning though, the best thing to do is practice. So he kisses Theo again, and again, and Theo kisses him back with much more conviction. As Liam settles back against the ground, he brings a hand up behind Theo’s head and silently instructs the other boy to follow him.

For a time they embrace the warmth of each other, the closeness of their bodies being pressed together, smiling against each other’s lips. It feels like everything has slotted into place; that the stars have aligned, that the formerly unknowable constellations have laid themselves out to be seen. It feels right.

Theo is the one to pull away first, what could be minutes or hours later. Liam opens his eyes and looks up at Theo; flushed cheeks, blinding smile, panting slightly with the sun at his back, a silhouette of golden wonder. He’s beautiful.

“So, are you still dead?” Theo asks.

"For a different reason, yeah,” Liam beams. His face almost hurts from smiling so widely. It still sort of feels like this isn’t real, like he’s going to blink and suddenly he’ll be back at his house, trailing Jenna because he can’t find anything better to do. The weight of Theo on top of him is anything but imaginary. “Another kiss of life might revive me though,” he teases, brushing a finger against Theo’s kiss swollen lips. “Or maybe a few, whatever works."

Theo barks out a laugh, warmth spreading through Liam for causing it. "You've been watching too many cartoons with your sister." Then he ponders for a moment, a twinkle in his eyes. "Hmm, I'm sure I can find myself a person to kiss somewhere else. One that’s more alive maybe, since I’m not a necrophiliac. I might just leave you here."

"Shut up and kiss me, asshole," Liam laughs, wrapping his arms around Theo again and pulling him down to reconnect their lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It finally happened!!! One year ago to the day, 13th November 2017, I wrote the - quite frankly awful - first draft of their kiss and now here it is, out there for everyone to read it. My heart is happy.


	12. Chapter 12

The entire day still feels like a dream; Liam still can’t quite believe it’s real.

One minute he and Theo had been making out and the next it was almost dark. They reluctantly agreed to go home and Liam tried not to take umbrage at the passage of time. He wished time could have stopped for them, could have let their moment drag on eternally. Unfortunately his luck could only stretch so far, and getting to kiss Theo definitely used up most of his quota.

He only just saw Theo, spent the entire afternoon and evening with him, but it doesn’t feel like enough. After today, he’s not sure if it will ever feel like enough again. His lips are still kiss swollen and he has no doubt Theo’s are the same, physical proof that it really happened.

Liam opens up their texts instead.

 

 **Liam:**  Today was fun

I definitely learned a lot about ‘skateboarding’ ;))

 

Liam laughs when Theo sends back two kissing heart emojis and a winking face. He exits his texts, scrolling through his contacts until he reaches Mason. They had agreed in the skatepark that Liam would tell Mason, and Theo would tell Corey and Hayden if Mason doesn’t beat him to it.

 

“Yeeees?” Mason says suspiciously, rather than saying hello. He probably thinks Liam is only calling to ask for homework help. To be fair, he’s not exactly wrong.

“Hey Mase,” Liam says casually, like it’s any other normal day, trying to keep the smile out of his voice. “So Theo and I made out all afternoon.”

Silence from the other end, then his phone does the disconnected tone.

Mason just hung up on him.

Liam doesn’t get the chance to question it though, because he immediately receives a video call request from Mason. Liam laughs and accepts it. Mason’s face is just a little bit too close to the screen and Liam instinctively holds his phone a little bit further away, trying to zoom him out. Obviously it doesn’t work so he holds it closer again.

“ _Tell. Me. Everything. _”__

“Only if you help me with my homework,” Liam counters.

“I swear to god, Liam…” Mason literally growls at him over the phone, his face getting even closer to the screen. Liam has to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself bursting into laughter, but if the death glare Mason’s giving him is anything to go by then he’s not doing a very good job of keeping his face neutral. “At least you’ve got a good reason for not doing it this time,” Mason mutters.

“So is that a deal?”

“Fine, fine, deal. Now  _spill _.__ ”

 

***

 

Liam wakes up to an explosion of notifications on his phone. Their group chat pretty much consists of Mason, Corey and Hayden all saying they ship it, interspersed with many, many exclamation marks. Scrolling back to the start of the new messages, Hayden is the one who started the exclamation mark spamming.

The messages started getting sent after Liam took his Risperdal, which essentially knocks him out a little while after he’s taken it. It doesn’t always necessarily feel like a natural sleep, but at least it’s deep.

Theo sent a few happy blushing faces after it so he can only assume Theo told Hayden - and presumably Corey - himself. It does something flippy and exciting in Liam’s stomach, seeing that Theo wanted to tell the others as much as he did.

 

“Well somebody’s in a good mood this morning,” David says when Liam bounds down the stairs and into the kitchen, an amused smile on his face as Liam whistles while he pours a bowl of cereal.

“I said I’d tell you when it’s something, and now it’s something. Theo and I kissed,” he beams. His chest flutters when he says the words in the most satisfying way. He can’t wait to see Theo at school, to talk about it with him and the others in person rather than on the phone or by text. He can’t wait to tell his mom. He wants to tell everyone and anyone that will listen.

“That’s great, kiddo.” David ruffles his hair and Liam lets him, too happy to pretend not to like it. “Just make sure you know what you’re getting into, okay?”

“I will,” Liam promises. “I don’t know if we’re even  _a thing_  yet.”

“Well if you become  _a thing_ ,” David makes air quotes around that, “Remember and stay safe-”

“The safe sex talk isn’t really necessary-“

“I’m just saying, I know what you and Garrett got up to and I’m glad you were safe. I’ve emptied your trash can after he’s been over-“

“Dad  _please_ ,” Liam whines. His face is hot and he’s certain he’s blushing crimson. Garrett being mentioned doesn’t even phase him, surprisingly. “We were having a nice moment and you’re ruining it.”

David does absolutely nothing to hide the upward tilt of his lips. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, every moment I get to embarrass you is nice.”

“Ha ha,” Liam drawls, sitting down at the breakfast bar and wolfing down his cereal a little bit quicker than is entirely necessary.

 

***

 

As per usual, Corey’s waiting in the parking lot when Mason and Liam arrive at school.

But today Theo is with him too.

Liam grins reflexively at the sight of him. He figured he would just catch Theo at break or lunch or something, it’s not like they really spent much time discussing how things will change now. It’s a really nice surprise to see him now though.

“Your boy’s here,” Mason smirks.

“Not my boy.”

“You spent how many hours making out with him yesterday?”

“He’s kind of my boy.”

“Look at your smile, he’s totally your boy.”

“Hey guys,” Mason says once they get out his car. Corey’s already leaning in towards him and Mason closes the distance to kiss him.

“Hey,” Theo replies, his eyes not leaving Liam’s. “Hey,” he says again softly, bumping Liam’s shoulder with his own.

The question is, what does he do now? Does he go in for the kiss too? If he does, on the cheek or the lips? Does he just return the shoulder bump?

He decides to go for the kiss, only Theo seems to think he’s going for a hug, so instead Liam ends up with Theo’s arms wrapped around him and his cheek pressed against Theo’s neck.

Corey snorts and Mason rolls his eyes.

“God, you two are hopeless,” Mason says, and Liam flips him and Corey off. He pulls back from Theo just slightly to wrap his arms around the back of his neck. It’s definitely a mutual thing, whatever they are. Theo is smiling just as much as Liam is and he hasn’t broken their weird kind-of-hug, kind-of-kiss thing they’ve got going on. It suddenly feels like smiling is all he can do, all he knows how to do.

“Hey,” Liam finally replies to Theo, kissing him on the lips for anyone to see. It’s just as good as at the skatepark.

“Aww, young love,” Mason coos, eliciting a giggle from Corey.

“Oh please, like you two aren’t worse,” Theo laughs, despite the dopey smile on his face. Corey at least has the decency to blush. Mason’s kind of shameless.

“Also dude, Theo, props for punching Garrett and defending Liam’s honour. Did it mess up your hand?”

“Believe me, it was my pleasure. Guy’s an asshole.” Theo holds out his hand for Mason and Corey to ogle over, Mason whistling lowly when he sees it. “Just a bruise, it’s fine.”

“Still, nice job.”

Theo is blushing a little at the attention but he looks quietly pleased with himself.

 

***

 

Theo is texting on his phone when Liam and Mason head over to the bleachers at lunch, but he puts his phone away shortly after he spots them.

Liam settles himself down right next to Theo, the entire right side of his body pressed against the entire left side of Theo’s.

They spend most of lunch slowly picking away at their food and chatting about nothing, the two of them caught in a bubble.

Liam’s kind of vaguely aware of how rude he’s being, ignoring the others and only chatting to Theo. However there’s just something intoxicating about liking someone who likes you back, and after yesterday he suddenly can’t get enough of Theo.

“Hey, do you want to hang out after school?” Theo asks.

Liam lights up inside - Theo is actually initiating a hangout. He gets excited about it for all of two seconds before he remembers. “Ugh, I can’t today. Lacrosse practice,” he groans. He kind of wants to ditch on the premise of exercising different muscles but he highly doubts Coach would be even moderately accepting of that. Also his life probably wouldn’t be worth living anymore. He still remembers the last time Greenberg ditched practice…

“After?” The hope in Theo’s voice is kind of killing him.

Liam shakes his head. “I’m going to Jordan and Lydia’s afterwards. Aria’s going on a playdate with their daughter and then we’re both having dinner there.” Jenna is on a flight across the country somewhere, David is working this evening and really, what teenage boy is going to say no to a free dinner?

“Oh, okay. How about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow should be good, yeah.”

“Great,” Theo beams.

 

***

 

Practice is tough, just straddling the line of being  _too_  tough. Coach had called him out a couple of minutes in for not being focused enough, his thoughts being almost exclusively occupied by Theo, and had proceeded to up the intensity to stop him doing it again. Liam’s still breathing heavily after showering and some of the other guys don’t seem to be faring much better. 

He can feel Garrett burning a hole into the side of his head, daring him to make eye contact so he can start an argument or something. Liam doesn’t rise to the bait, as much as he might want to - Garrett’s left eye is an extremely satisfying shade of purple and his right is somewhat bruised too. It turns out Theo has a mean right hook.

His ankle was playing up a little bit, apparently not as fine as he thought it was after the skatepark. He hadn’t thought there had been any actual damage to it at the time, but there’s a mildly unhealthy throb pulsing through it now after running about on it. He’s not really worried though, it’s just an inconvenience more than anything. As long as he tries not to strain it or put too much unnecessary pressure on it, he should be fine.

“Dunbar, my office,” Coach Finstock says, cutting through the chatter of the other guys. Suddenly all eyes are on him and nerves bloom in Liam’s stomach. He wracks his brain for anything he’s done wrong lately, any bad plays, but nothing springs to mind. Nothing other than being told to focus more, that is, but Coach wouldn’t normally pull people aside for something as small as that. He frowns, pulling his clothes on and going into Finstock’s office.

“Ah, Dunbar!” Coach says, as if he didn’t literally just ask Liam to come in here. “That was another good practice out there today.”

“Thanks Coach,” Liam nods. “Can I ask you something first before you say your thing?”

Finstock scrutinises him. “You can ask.”

“It's about my friend, Corey. Could he come to some practices? He’s a novice and I know the season’s already started, but he’s quick. Some of us practiced together over the weekend and he got past Talbot.”

“Devenford Prep Talbot? The tall one?”

“Yeah. I think he’d be great as a midfielder with some practice. Later on he could maybe try out for the team?”

He can physically see the wheels turning in Finstock’s mind, recalling how Brett plays and who on their team can or can’t get past him.

“Okay, bring him to next practice. If he performs, he’s in.”

“Thanks Coach,” Liam smiles. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Ah, yes, yes. You’ve got a lot of potential, Dunbar. There’s a college scout coming to the game on Friday, I’ve singled you out to them. I want you to make sure you rest up and play your bes-“

“Sorry, what?” Liam splutters, thrown totally off guard. Obviously college applications are on the horizon, no doubt they’ll be the bane of his existence during senior year. All throughout high school, the seniors on the team have complained about admissions essays. He had just been trying to forget about them until after the summer.

Finstock sighs loudly, as if the whole conversation is suddenly a chore for him. “Keep up, keep up. There’s a college scout and he’s going to be watching  _you _.__  Don’t mess it up.”

With that Finstock leaves his office, shouting at two of the freshmen for whipping each other with their towels.

Liam’s left standing there, trying to process whatever the hell just happened.

 

***

 

Liam’s still thinking about what Coach Finstock said at practice while he’s walking home. Obviously he takes pride in his skills at lacrosse, at being a team player and giving guidance to the younger guys on the team where he can. But a college scout? It all suddenly seems very real, very important, much bigger than just a high school hobby.

He doesn’t even notice Hayden across the road until she calls over to him.

“Liam!”

“Hey!” he calls back, and to her credit she almost looks happy to see him. Liam takes it as a sign to cross the street and join her.

“Lacrosse practice?” Hayden asks, gesturing to the sports bag slung over his shoulder.

“Yeah, just finished. So what’s up?”

“I’m going to the comic book store. You’ve got perfect timing actually, I was supposed to be going with Corey but he cancelled on me for Mason.” She rolls her eyes fondly. “So, you’re not Corey but you’ll do.” She says it so cheerfully that it doesn’t even sound like an insult.

“Yeah, sure, I’ll just drop my plans for you. It’s no big deal, whatever.”

“Please, you don’t have plans. Also it’s an honour to join me and you know it.” She bumps his shoulder, smiling when he bumps hers back.

“I’m actually going to Jordan and Lydia’s for dinner. It’s cool though, I don’t need to be there for a little while still.”

“Oh, cool. Val had her polygraph test for the Sheriff’s job last week, has Jordan had his yet?”

“Yeah, he had it last week too. He was all worried that it was going to mess up and say he had killed a guy or something.”

“Val too!” Hayden laughs. “It’s such a long interview process, it’s been going on for months.”

“Need to be thorough, I guess,” Liam shrugs.

They arrive at the comic book store and Hayden holds the door open for him.

“Thanks,” he says, standing in the doorway so she can take the lead. Liam’s not sure if he’s ever actually been in here before. There are shelves of comics forevermore all with their covers on display, as opposed to the spines being on display like in bookstores. Comics are probably too thin for displaying the spines to be practical, he reasons, however there are some shelves of manga too. There are also island displays full of comics in the middle of the store, people flicking through them and reading as they go along. There’s paraphernalia everywhere, figurines on display in cabinets and also for sale in boxes, as well as some life-size cardboard cutouts. Liam is absolutely not taking umbrage that they look taller than him. Despite it all though, the store somehow doesn’t look cluttered or messy.

Hayden seems to know exactly where she’s going so Liam just follows her, taking great care not to knock anything over with his lacrosse bag. She stops at one of the island displays and starts flicking through the comics in it.

“So is it just you who likes comics or does Corey like them too?”

She picks up a comic, seemingly at random, and starts reading it. “No, we both like them. We lend them to Theo when we’re done and swap them about and stuff, since he-” Hayden cuts herself off, eyes ever so slightly wider than usual.

“What’s going on with him?” Liam blurts before he can think any better of it.

Hayden’s eyebrows shoot up, the deer in the headlights expression he usually associates with Corey marring her face.

“It's not my place to say. You need to ask him yourself or respect his privacy.”

“So you know, then.” It’s a statement, not an accusation.

“I do, and I can’t tell you.”

Liam nods. Not the answer he wanted, but the answer he expected.

“You’re a good friend.”

“I try to be,” Hayden says. There’s a lot of weight behind the words, a lot that’s implied but doesn’t need to be explicitly stated. “And you better not hurt him, Liam Dunbar, or I’ll kick your ass.”

“I won’t,” Liam promises. He doesn’t really mean to say it, but maybe he’s still not quite as secure in himself as he would like to believe, because his next immediate thought is, “What if he hurts me?”

Hayden considers him for a moment, looking directly into his eyes and making sure she has his attention. “Then I’ll kick his ass.”

Liam can tell she means it.

“How about you? Ever read anything?” Hayden asks.

“Nah, not anymore. I liked Spiderman and Superman and stuff when I was younger, but that’s about it. What would you recommend for a beginner?”

“Supergirl is pretty good,” says an Asian girl looking at the row behind them. “Ack, sorry,” she grimaces. “I couldn’t help overhearing.”

“No, no, it’s cool. So what do you like about it?” Liam asks.

“Well, she might be white but she’s not straight or male, so that’s always a bonus.”

“Yes!” Hayden laughs, raising her hand. “High five me, right now.” The girl smiles and reciprocates the high five. “I’m Hayden, by the way. And this is my friend, Liam. He’s kinda lame though, just ignore him.”

Hayden smirks and bumps his shoulder, but Liam still gives an indignant, “Hey!”

The girl laughs, and Liam could swear Hayden is checking her out. “Kira.“

“Are you new here?” Hayden asks. “I don’t think I’ve seen you at school.”

“Oh, no, I’m in college. I’m just helping my parents move in. My dad’s the new history teacher at your high school, Mr. Yukimura. He’s starting next week.”

So he finally has a name for Mr. Mendoza’s replacement. He’ll need to remember to tell Mason.

“You’re helping your parents move in from the comic book store?” Liam asks.

“Let’s call it a break,” she smiles, and Hayden laughs again, just a touch too loud. “So what issue are you up to in Supergirl?”

Hayden and Kira start animatedly discussing it, and Liam can’t help but notice how well the two are getting on. Hayden has never mentioned being into girls, but in saying that maybe they’re not close enough yet to talk about this sort of thing. They could be getting there, though, if today is anything to go by.

Liam flicks through a few comics while Hayden and Kira continue to chat, when suddenly he’s hit with a great idea.

“Hey, guys?” he asks, getting their attention. “Do you know any comics with black main characters in them? I’m always looking for positive rep for my little sister. She’s only four though, nothing too heavy.”

“I do actually, yeah. Hold on,” Hayden says, disappearing to another part of the store. Likewise, Kira rakes through one of the displays and plucks out a comic, handing it to Liam.

“Maybe not what you’re looking for, but Miles Morales from the Spiderman Universe is African American and Puerto Rican.”

“Great, thank you. I’ll look at anything, really.” That’s when Hayden comes back, a barely concealed grin on her face. “What is it?” Liam asks.

“Fight Like A Girl,” she says, turning the cover to Liam so he can see it. There’s a black girl front and centre, her natural hair piled on top of her head and generally looking like a badass.

“This is awesome, Hayden, thank you so much.”

“Anything to help a little girl love herself,” she smiles.

Liam flicks through the comics while Hayden and Kira chat about how Peter and Wade’s friendship in Spiderman: Homecoming was lifted from Miles Morales, as well as one of his outfits which they’re trying to claim is Peter’s, and how it further detracts from characters of colour in media. He doesn’t give any input himself, firstly because it’s not his lane and secondly because he doesn’t know anything about it.

Liam buys the first issues of the comics, figuring he can come back for more if Aria likes them.

Kira’s just leaving the store, apparently being called back home to actually help unpack, and she waves at them both through the window. 

“So you liked Kira?” Liam asks when he rejoins Hayden.

“Well yeah, she’s smart and gorgeous and knows about comics. What’s not to like?”

“No, like. You _liked_  her. You were flirting with her.”

“What do you mean? I wasn’t,” Hayden replies.

“Hayden, I know flirting when I see it.”

“Do you? You were pretty oblivious to Theo for a while.”

“Hilarious,” Liam drawls. “You were flirting with her.”

Hayden doesn’t respond; she seems to actually be considering it.

 

***

 

Dinner at Jordan and Lydia’s was good. Christine was happy to see him and Aria loved the comic books he bought for her. He gave them to her after they went home and Liam spent a little while reading the Miles Morales one with her until she got too tired, then he put her to bed.

Liam yawns as he’s getting into Mason’s car in the morning - it’s far too early to be awake, let alone going to school - but he cuts it off the second he sees Mason. He’s practically glowing, a barely concealed happiness radiating from him.

“Oh my god.”

“What?” Mason asks, immediately clasping a hand over his neck, squirming under Liam’s scrutiny. There’s obviously a new mark or two there which Liam hadn’t spotted.

“You and Corey had sex. You totally had sex.”

Mason bursts into a blinding smile and Liam immediately knows he’s right.

“Yeah, and it was _awesome_.”

“Dude!” Liam cheers, high fiving him. “Give me like, the very basic overview. Nothing you wouldn’t tell your dad.”

“Looks like you already know more than I can tell you then,” he shrugs, smile still splitting his face.

“Mason!”

 

***

 

Liam heads over to Theo’s truck instead of Mason’s car after school and finds Theo already there.

“Hey,” he says, hopping into the passenger seat.

“Hey yourself,” Theo smiles.

Liam places his bag at his feet and puts his seatbelt on. “You still wanna go to the mall?”

“If that’s fine with you, yeah. I want another one of those milkshakes.”

“By ‘milkshake’ do you mean that tooth-rotting _monstrosity_  you got last time?”

“Yep,” Theo grins, popping the P.

 

The mall is already kind of busy with other schoolkids but thankfully there was barely anyone waiting at the smoothie stand in the food court. The cashier has just told them their total and Liam pulls his wallet out of his pocket. “I’ve got these.”

“No,” Theo says, clasping a hand over Liam’s. “I’ll pay.”

Liam looks at him for a moment. “It’s fine, really, I’ve got them.”

“No,” Theo repeats. “You’re always buying me stuff, it’s my turn.”

“I don’t mind-”

“I’m paying.”

The staunchness in Theo’s voice is unfamiliar and Liam can tell he’s not going to win this one. Somehow in the span of two days they’ve become like those middle aged people who always insist they want to pay when they go out together.

Liam blinks and puts his wallet back in his pocket. “Okay.”

Theo hands his money over to the cashier and his smile is back instantly, as if it’s an achievement to spend his money.

“Thank you,” Liam says sincerely. Theo smiles, proud of himself. The cashier just rolls her eyes - Liam wonders how many times this happens per day.

Theo pockets his change and they seat themselves at an empty table. Liam watches as Theo takes a sip of his monstrosity, seemingly unaffected by the overload of sugar.

“Can I have a bit?” Liam asks. Maybe it won’t be as bad this time.

“Sure,” Theo says, passing his cup over and taking Liam’s.

It’s just as bad this time. Liam grimaces and takes his own milkshake back, trying to wash out the taste of Theo’s by taking a large gulp of it.

“That’s awful.”

“I like it,” Theo shrugs, drinking more just to prove his point.

Theo asks if he can kiss Liam. Liam laughs and says of course he can, they kind of spent most of yesterday afternoon doing it. Theo says he wanted to make sure it wasn’t some sort of fluke or something, that it’s still fine to do it.

Liam says of course he can, they do the dumb smiling thing at each other again and kiss. For a moment he can taste the sugary sweetness of Theo’s milkshake but it soon dissipates. Mindful that they’re in the middle of the mall and because Liam is a courteous guy, he keeps the pace slow and steady, a sweetness not shared with Theo’s milkshake. Seriously, that thing is awful.

“It’s been forever since I made out with someone,” Theo says offhandedly. Liam knows he shouldn’t, there’s no reason to ask, it’s none of his business-

“Who did you last make out with?”

Theo doesn’t seem perturbed by the question. “I mean, I kissed Hayden a few times. Did you know we tried to date?”

“Corey mentioned it once, yeah.” He’s not saying he’s _glad_  things didn’t work out between them, but…

“Before that was at some party she dragged me to last summer, some guy from Devenford. He was called Steven or something? He gave me this ridiculous hickey-”

Liam snorts, interrupting Theo. “Oh my god,” he laughs.

“What? Do you know him?”

“I think so, yeah. Was he blond? Possibly called Sean?”

“Yeah, Sean! That was it.”

“Oh my god,” Liam repeats, turning away while he laughs. Theo keeps watching him with a quirked eyebrow until he composes himself. “He’s Mason’s ex.”

“No way.”

“Yeah, for real. Have you seen Mason’s neck recently?”

Liam physically sees the moment realisation dawns on Theo, between Sean liking to give hickeys and Mason very much liking to receive hickeys, his neck being varying shades of purple as of late courtesy of Corey.

“Oooh. Yeah, okay, that makes sense. But they broke up?”

“Yeah, it was all really civil though. They just kind of drifted apart. It might have been the going to different schools thing, maybe they didn’t have much in common apart from a biting kink, I don’t know.” Theo laughs and it’s like a little victory, every time Liam pulls that sound from him. “Mase wasn’t heartbroken or anything so I didn’t interrogate either of them over it.”

Theo hums thoughtfully, distracted by a customer who’s making a fuss at the smoothie stand.

“I’m a better kisser than Sean though, right?” Liam jokes, trying to bat his eyelashes and failing if the way Theo laughs is anything to go by.

“I mean, you haven’t tried to maul me or anything yet so that’s always a bonus. Seriously, I had that hickey for over a week. I managed to hide it from my mom for like two days but then she just laughed at me every time she saw me, it was so embarrassing.”

“I swear parents get off on embarrassing their kids, my dad embarrassed me half to death yesterday.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm.”

Liam doesn’t really want to recount that particular story, considering what it was about. Instead he leans in and presses a kiss to Theo’s neck. However rather than pull away or kiss him again, Liam opens his mouth wide and sucks very lightly.

“Don’t you dare!” Theo yelps, eyes practically bulging as he pulls away. Liam dissolves into laughter and Theo pouts, shoving him lightly. When Liam composes himself he redirects his mouth from Theo’s neck to his straw, stealing a sip of his milkshake and washing it down with a some of his own again. It’s still far too sweet for him, like his teeth are physically rotting in his mouth from direct contact, but apparently he’s a glutton for punishment. He really doesn’t understand how Theo can drink it.

“You wanna see an animal video?” Liam asks.

“Obviously,” Theo grins around his straw.

Liam shows Theo the video of the capybaras relaxing in an outdoor bath, steaming hot water with yuzu floating around in it, relaxing oriental music playing.

“They’re so cute,” Theo fawns when the scene changes to the capybaras with their heads under the streams of water, taking Liam’s phone so he can see the video better. Liam doesn’t mind, he’s already seen the video and as cute as it might be, Theo’s reaction is even better.

Liam spends a lot more time than he would like to admit watching animal videos nowadays, thinking about how much Theo would like them. He sends them occasionally via text but this is a much more rewarding reaction than some emojis and exclamation marks, seeing the way Theo’s face absolutely lights up and the little sounds of joy he makes.

“I love capybaras, they’re so chill. They just wanna swim and eat plants and be comfy.” 

“Sounds ideal,” Liam agrees. “Minus the eating plants part. Anyway, speaking of Devenford…”

“Yeah?”

“We’ve got a game against them on Friday. Do you want to come and watch?” The _watch me_  is implied, he can tell Theo knows what he really means though.

“I’ll need to check my mom doesn’t have anything planned, but yeah. I’d like that,” Theo smiles.

“Awesome. Who knows, you might even get to reunite with Sean.”

“Fuck off,” Theo laughs. Liam just smirks at him.

Liam’s phone buzzes with a text on the table and he opens it.

 

 **David:**  Mom is home, dinner in 30. Are you joining us?

 

 **Liam:**  Yeah, be home soon

 

“Hey, I need to go.”

“Oh, okay. Want me to drive you home?”

“I don’t mind walking, I don’t want you to go out of your way or anything.”

“Let me rephrase: I’ll drive you home.”

“Haha, fine.”

Theo sticks the radio on low and Liam hums along softly to it, not wanting to distract Theo by singing along to the songs he knows. Far too soon they’ve stopped outside his house.

“Thanks for the milkshake. And for bringing me home.”

“My pleasure,” Theo smiles, leaning in and kissing his cheek. Liam turns before Theo can pull away, bringing a hand to the back of his head to kiss him properly. The taste of Theo’s lips is addictive, he just can’t get enough of them.

Theo pulls away first, breaking the kiss with a pop. “What if your parents are watching?”

Liam reluctantly opens his eyes. “Then they shouldn’t be. Watching your kid make out with someone is weird.” He darts in to give Theo a final peck on the cheek. “Okay, I should really go now. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you,” Theo says.

Liam gets out of the truck and goes inside, waving at Theo from the front door. He waves back and drives off. Jenna is near the door when Liam goes inside.

“Hey mom,” he says, giving her a hug. She’s smirking when he pulls away.  
”So, you and Theo.”

Liam rolls his eyes and dumps his bags on the floor. She was totally watching them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've started a new side story to provide some scenes from other POVs. Check out Light and Shade to see this chapter from Mason's POV!


End file.
